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Kristi Mogen:Fighting CAFOs
Above: Kristi Mogen at home in Revillo, South Dakota. Kristi Mogen and her family left Wyoming after an oil field near their home threatened their health. “In 2012, an oil field moved into Wyoming…into our neighborhood. The first wells were about two miles from our house. We had this beautiful house, had mountain views,…
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Ferguson Family Ranches
Above: From left to right, Lizzie Tilles, Liza Clarke, Tyler Ferguson, Ana Worswick, Tyler’s daughter and Ana’s son at their home in Ridgway, Colorado. “I feel very fortunate to have my family living right here on this ranch. I couldn’t do this without them,” says Liza. Liza Clarke, her son Tyler Ferguson, and his girlfriend…
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Ian Caselli: Sioux Falls Producer
Above: Market gardener Ian Caselli at his home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Depending on the time of the year, Ian Caselli has two very different jobs. From September through May, Ian works as a Community Facilitator for the Sioux Falls School District. During the growing season, Ian is what he calls “a market…
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Luc and Rachel Bourgault: Local Producers
Above: Luc and Rachel Bourgault at their home in Clearmont, Wyoming. Luc and Rachel Bourgault live nestled in a hill right outside of Sheridan, Wyoming in Clearmont. They are new members of Powder River Basin Resource Council. They are local producers and the fourth generation to live on this homestead. The Bourgaults live in an…
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Shiloh Valley Family Farm
Theresa Shaw stands in a greenhouse at Shiloh Valley Family Farm as dark storm clouds fill the sky. Her youngest son, 5-year-old David, hangs on her hip as she begins her story. “The Farmer Veteran Coalition provided us a grant to buy this greenhouse as we were expanding into vegetables,” said Theresa. The…
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Steve Charter: Soil Health
Third-generation rancher Steve Charter is changing the story about agriculture. “When you use fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, over-till and overgraze, you mess up the entire relationship of the soil and the plant,” said Steve. Over the past 70 years modern agriculture’s reliance on additives has depleted soil, polluted waterways, significantly increased greenhouse gas emissions and…
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Stephanie Rael:Fighting for Farms
Above: Farmhand Stephanie Rael at Peaceful Belly Farms in Boise, Idaho. “I was raised on a lot of processed food. Canned goods, Hamburger Helper, frozen entrees, that sort of thing. I’ve always loved to eat but it wasn’t until I volunteered on an organic farm in Germany that I found my passion for good,…
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Tom Varcalli
Above: Tom Varcalli at his home in Sheridan, Wyoming. Tom Varcalli wants to see farms supporting families again. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Agriculture noted that the average American farm operated at a net loss — requiring off-farm income and health insurance just to break even. “The farm can make money — but not…
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Wink Davis: Commitment to Consumers over the Industrialization of Small Scale Farms
On his sixtieth birthday, Wink Davis gave himself a present. He and his wife, Max Eisele, bought a farm in Hotchkiss, Colorado. Today, Wink and Max raise certified organic peaches, apples, wine grapes, table grapes and Babydoll Southdown sheep. And there’s the winery. Mesa Winds Farms & Winery rests in the North Fork Valley,…
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Scott Horner on the Farm Bill
The Farm Bill dictates the origin of your food, the economic health of your community, the amount of control of big agriculture and factory farms, subsidies and who gets them, the price of your groceries, and whether or not you know where the food you eat comes from. It’s easy to write off the…