Response to 'Farmland'

Less than 2% of our current population works directly in agriculture, and yet, we are still producing more and more food everyday. Our farmers work a significant amount, and it takes a huge physical and emotional toll. It’s important to acknowledge their hard work, and appreciate what they do for us.

Ryan Veldhuizen, who is in his 20s, co-runs a fourth generation hog farm in Minnesota. In order to keep the farm successful, he must overcome several things, like negative public perception, poor weather and environmental conditions, while staying sustainable. Ryan knew he wanted to be a farmer since he was little, and he now owns the operation with his family.

Margaret Schlass is a first generation naturally grown vegetable farmer. She has the obstacle of being a first generation farmer, which involves incredible amounts of money and effort. She markets through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) membership program, which signs members up to receive her products each month. It gives her farm a well needed foundation.

Leighton Cooley is a fourth generation poultry farmer from Georgia. Cooley has several responsibilities, in and out of farming. He operates four farms alongside his father, has a cow-calf operation, grows hay, and raises his two sons with his wife. Something unique about him is his open-door policy. Cooley welcomes consumers to the farm, and loves sharing the story of difficult work and dedication behind the food we all eat everyday, often without second thought.

The documentary, ‘Farmland’, provides a well-needed and well-deserved look into farmers’ lives. Personally, ‘Farmland’ showed me a lot of the business behind agriculture, including some devious marketing strategies that have negatively impacted producers . It also revealed to me just how much hard work goes into our food, and even possessions made from animal by-products, and placed an emphasis on the passion that farmers have. If our farmers didn’t have such a strong a desire to positively impact the human population, we wouldn’t be alive. We owe a lot to our farmers.