GIVING LIFE TO LIFE
The valley is in Skagit county Washington
My project documents food production on small farms in the early 21st century in North America. These photographs provide an introduction into the daily work lives of farmers; the non-stop tasks of planting and cultivating, irrigating and harvesting, preparing crops for market, livestock care and management. The list endlessly loops, year after year. This is a glimpse of what it takes to feed us. While my project focuses on a small region of the Pacific NorthWest, the tasks of farmers are universal.
I live and work in the Skagit River Valley, 90 miles north of Seattle where over 90 crops are grown in its rich soil. The farms I am documenting are small and operate primarily as organic farms. Most of the farm owners and farmworkers have lived here for generations. Many immigrated from Holland, Mexico and Scandinavia.
FARM WORKERS
Long days, hard work, sore backs! Good weather, bad weather, hot and dusty, cold and wet, farming never stops. Nor do the workers! Each day farm workers perform a variety of tasks to grow and produce their crops: plowing, planting, weeding, harvesting, washing produce, packaging, feeding livestock, repairing equipment and more. Often bent at the waist, for hours. Day after day, year around, growing vegetables, grain, flowers, dairy, seeds, the list is long and impressive. The care and diligence of the workers on these small farms provide good food to families.
PROJECT STATUS
After 4 years of photographing farm labor, I now move towards creating a book dummy; a slow process that will occupy my time going forward. Simultaneously I am pursuing a new chapter, animal husbandry!
Most farms care for some form of livestock on their land for a variety of needs: food, clothing, transportation, or as draught animals. The variety varies from chickens to cows, horses to honeybees, alpacas to ostriches, and many more in between; each a fascinating creature. My farming story continues to focus on small farms and ranches that practice animal husbandry.
MY PROCESS
I photograph most days, returning to the same roads and fields through each season and in all kinds of weather. This is important, as it allows me to see and capture the changes on the farms. The land is at times lush with crops or newborn sheep, sometimes stark as harvest ends. It is different every day. My daily approach informs an intimate story of this beautiful landscape that was created by farmers (reclaimed from the sea) and is now hard worked by them. It’s a dynamic and vital landscape that feeds a vast community.