On Wednesday night, over 130 people gathered at Hampshire’s Red Barn to view the live broadcast of WGBY’s new documentary “A Long Row in Fertile Ground.” The event was spurred by Hampshire’s Food, Farm, and Sustainability Institute, an 8 credit academic program with students hailing from as far East as China and as far south as Georgia. The FFS students have visited several area farms this summer – from small Organic CSA farms to larger conventional farms. The 45 minute documentary explores the full breadth of agriculture in Western Massachusetts and helped to synthesize the themes that the students have explored these past 6 weeks.
Hampshire co-hosted the event with the nonprofit Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), whose “Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown” campaign has been promoting Pioneer Valley farmers since 1999. The evening festivities commenced on the deck of the Red Barn where guests enjoyed views of Hampshire’s grassland bird meadow and a menu of local refreshments. The bar featured beer from Brewmaster Jack, People’s Pint and Lefty’s breweries as well as local wines (made from Hadley grapes!) by Mount Warner Vineyards. And since a movie isn’t complete without a bag of popcorn, David Wissemann brought the mobile kettle corn machine from Mike’s Maze in Sunderland and popped local Pioneer Valley Popcorn from Hatfield for a hungry crowd.
Farmers were the guests of honor at the event, filling half the room as the audience gathered to view the telecast at dusk. Many of the farmers featured in the film were present, including Ben Clark from Clarkdale Fruit Farms, John Kokowski from Mapeline Farm, Daryl and Lucinda Williams from Belden Farm, Rob Lynch from Riverland Farm, Caroline Pam and Tim Wilcox from the Kitchen Garden Farm, and Mike Wissemann from Warner Farm.”A Long Row in Fertile Ground” weaves together stories of historic family farms and first generation farms, young farmers and old farmers, vegetable farmers and dairy farmers, and new models of farming like Community Supported Agriculture and urban community gardens. The film honestly portrays the struggles and successes of New England farmers in the context of our region’s agricultural resurgence, highlighting the dedication of our farmers to their community and their land.
WGBY General Manager Rus Peotter and Emmy Award nominated producer Dave Fraser both attended the screening and were lauded with a hearty round of applause at the end of the film. A studio discussion featuring Peotter and Fraser as well as CISA’s Executive Director Phil Korman, and Hampshire’s own CSA Manager Nancy Hanson follows the film, which is now available to view online. Hanson talks about the increasing interest in agriculture she has seen over the course of her 15 years at the Hampshire College Farm and how our community has evolved to support a new generation of farmers and eaters who will continue the work of building a resilient local foods system.
Read an article about the event from the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
