Platforms

USA Today the farmers' film

Partners

USA Today the farmers' film Carolina Farm Credit Organic Growers School Slow Food Asheville Appalachian Sustainabl Agriculture Project

Process

Selection

The film project begins in Western North Carolina, with a group of farmers that two Purple States producers based in Black Mountain have come to know.

Participants

Meghan Cole is in her first year of farming in Western North Carolina, having recently arrived from California; Jeanette Wilson is an organic farmer on the land where she lived as a child, and her daily tasks resemble what her grandparents did on the same property; Jennifer Perkins is co-founder and owner of the Looking Glass Creamery in Fairview, and has deep connections to micro-dairies in Western North Carolina; Susan and Nick Nichols raise lamb and chickens for market at Highlander Farm in Fairview.

Financing

Production costs for the initial phase are being covered through contributions by local businesses and individuals to the Organic Growers School, which is partnering with Purple States. Presenting sponsorship by Carolina Farm Credit.

Editorial Control

The producers selected the farmers and will determine the content of the edited videos.

Credits

  • Produced by Cinnamon Kennedy with Meredith McKissick
  • Directed by John Kennedy
  • Video editing by John Kennedy
  • Videography by the farmers

Looking Glass Creamery

Hominy Valley Farms - Land and Cattle

Harvest Table Farm

Highlander Farms

Webisode 1: The Gamble

Webisode 2: Getting to Market

Webisode 3: Great Expectations

Webisode 4: Raising a Herd

Webisode 5: Good Farm Help

Webisode 6: Local Ecosystem

Webisode 7: The Chicken Economy

Webisode 8: The Alpha and the Omega

Webisode 9: The $5 Local Meal

Webisode 10: A Change in Season

Webisode 11: Marketing Genius

Webisode 12: Animal Husbandry

Webisode 13: The Organic Conundrum

Webisode 14: Second Jobs

Webisode 15: The Good, The Bad, and the Piglets

The Farmers' Film Trailer

Meet the farmers and glimpse their world. People like to talk about local food. The realities of life on small farms may surprise you.