One of my favorite weeks every year is the road trip I take with our film team—director Susan Steiner, camera person Nancy Serna and sound person Emily Strong–to visit farmers who will be spotlighted on the Farm Aid stage at the press event that takes place before the music begins on show day. On that stage, these farmers will join the Farm Aid board artists to talk about the challenges and opportunities of family farmers and the ways they sustain–and are sustained by–their communities.
We visited five farms this year, from a century farm in Unionville that lies in the path of the proposed 765-kilovolt transmission line intended to feed energy to data centers in Northern Virginia and another century farm in Cumberland that grows produce to sell directly to their community, to a pastured hog farm in the Pungo region of Virginia Beach operated by a young family, an urban farm in Newport News serving its community and military veterans, and a produce farm in Virginia Beach that has fed their community for two generations so far and more into the future.
It is an incredible privilege to be welcomed to the farms and homes of these farmers–and a responsibility to accurately share their stories. The emotions farmers share with us run the gamut from pride and joy to worry and pain. Spending a day with a farmer, hearing how they came to farming, seeing how much they do on an average day, understanding what their concerns are, and witnessing how they connect with their community–it’s incredibly enlightening and humbling. Most of us understand that farming is hard work, but the extent to which it is not just a job, but a way of life and how farmers balance their work with other responsibilities–from family and friends to off-farm jobs and making time to care of their own selves–it can only truly be understood by walking in that farmer’s boots.
I’m excited to share these photos to give you a behind the scenes look at our interactions with these inspiring farmers. And we can’t wait to share their stories with you on September 26!
