Star Wars: The Last Farmer

Luke Skywalker maybe the last Jedi and he could also be the last farmer in a galaxy far, far away….

The latest Star Wars movie Episode 8: The Last Jedi has opened in theaters across the world, much to the delight of fans of the series. It also has us reflecting about some of the Star Wars universe’s links to agriculture.

Top of the list is Luke Skywalker, who happens to be one of the most famous farm boys in the galaxy. He grew up on his aunt and uncle’s moisture farm on the desert planet of Tatooine. Skywalker took the work ethic he learned on the farm with him across space to help bring balance to the force as a Jedi.

Like a lot of farm kids, Skywalker grew up hunting. Who could forget how his experience shooting womp rats in his T-16 back home helped him bring down the Death Star?

Being called a “nerf-herder” might have been a putdown for Han Solo, but it is an occupation similar to Earth’s cowboys who take care of cattle instead of nerfs.

Calling someone a “moof milker” is another way Han Solo has been known to insult your intelligence. Moof are similar to cattle in that they have thick hide, hoofed feet and secret milk. We’re not sure if the moof says “moo” or how to milk one.

Speaking of milk, blue milk has been seen in the Star War universe on Outer Rim planets such as Tatoonie. It is said that the blue milk comes from female banthas, which resemble a yak. 

In addition to all the different livestock in Star Wars, there are also sentient species that resemble livestock like Gamorrean. The Gamorreans are a green-skined humanoid that looks alot like a pig. You may remember them working as guards for a mob boss named Jabba the Hutt. 

Much like land grant universities on Earth, the planet of Gari houses one of the leading institutions of higher learning, Garqi Agricultural University.

Back here on Earth, you don’t have to look far to see similarities to Star Wars on farms.

Automatic feed pushers somewhat resemble the popular droid R2-D2. Robotic milkers supply a droid army to reduce the labor needed on dairies.

Drones are being used to survey crop fields like the drones that discovered the secret Rebel base on the ice plant of Hoth.

Consumers seem to think there will be an Attack of the Clones caused by the use of genetic technologies to breed superior livestock.

Finally, here’s Darth Vader’s country cousin Darth Farmer calling in the cows:

May the force be with you!