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15 Feb ’12
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“65 is the average age of farmers, and there are not enough young farmers to replace them. How did we get here?”**
In the summer of 2015, Eva Verbeeck asked me to join her on a trip throughout the Pacific Northwest to produce a short film on young farmers, that would accompany her photo story for a variety of publications. Having spent much time WWOOFing on organic farms, I knew the importance of this mission. So we loaded our iPods with old bluegrass music and set off in a 1990 Nissan truck, heading from Portland to British Columbia. We offered our labor in exchange for room and board at the farms that we made it to.
This film is an attempt to express some of the thoughts and feelings of the young farmers that we stayed with. Hopefully a little bit of justice was done for all the young farmers out there.
6 Oct ’15
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In our area dairy farms are the big thing. When I was young there were many small dairy farms of 50-100 head. You don't see those anymore. Everything now is owned by 5 or 6 big farms, they kept buying up the little guy that couldn't make it in the 80s and 90s. These big ones are family owned.
Here we are in an age where it's tough to start almost any kind of farm operation.
There are a number of small organic and specialty farms that do pretty well, they sell to the upper end consumer...good stuff by expensive...still very few like this.
...With the loss of top soil, less water for irrigation, less tillable acreage and growing world population...all makes for what appears to be some concerning times ahead.
15 Feb ’12
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pretty much the same thing is happening up here, it's actually the state driving the smaller dairies out, they want to just deal with a couple large corporate ones, there have been a number of suicides up here over it.
12 Oct ’12
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I've always told the Mrs. that if I was not so dependent upon good health insurance to cover my ridiculously expensive diabetic supplies, I'd sell it all, buy some acreage and farm for the rest of my life. I cannot imagine a better, more fulfilling lifestyle.
15 Feb ’12
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My grandfather seemed very happy with his life as a dairy farmer, the man always had a smile on his face, after having 10 kids I think he was just happy to be out in the barn by himself
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