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Wyoming Food Freedom Act Provides Opportunity for Producers
Above: Joe Wesnitzer in his hydroponic greenhouse in Sheridan, Wyoming. Joe Wesnitzer was surrounded by the gentle hum of a heater while working in his greenhouse harvesting fresh lettuce in late October — a rarity in Wyoming. Outside, his herd of Scottish Highland cattle grazed the frosty ground. The sun was just beginning to…
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Booms and Busts: A century of trying to protect a family ranch
Above: LJ and Karen Turner at the Turnercrest Ranch. A homemade wooden sign hangs on a wooden post right off Highway 387, about an hour south of Gillette, Wyo. Beyond the sign is a long stretch of dusty road. A couple deer stand on alert in the tall prairie grasses, and beyond them, water…
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Judy McCullough:Fighting for Ranchers
Above: Rancher Judy McCullough at home at Empire Ranch, in Moorcroft, Wyoming. Ranchers aren’t born, they’re honed in competition. On the ranch, you’re competing against everything. Competing against the elements, against frostbitten winters, blistered summers and drought. You’re competing against time and age. You’re competing against other producers, sometimes your neighbors and you’re always…
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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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Carol LeResche:Local Producer
Above: Carol LeResche at her home in Clearmont, Wyoming. In 2003, Carol LeResche and her husband, Bob, packed up their Alaska home and moved to Sheridan, Wyoming. She was born there. And, in 1996, they had bought a ranch on Clear Creek, a few miles downstream from the little town of Clearmont, forty miles…
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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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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…