What’s it like on a modern farm? What makes up a farmer’s day? What sort of challenges do farmers face? How is our food grown? What types of technology do farmers use?
More and more people have questions like these, as interest in food among modern American consumers is skyrocketing. However, given that less than two percent of the U.S. population farms, general knowledge of how food is grown is low.
This mixture of circumstances makes for interesting conversations about agriculture. However, what’s often missing from the discussions are actual farmers. This makes sense, given how long it has been since most of us have worked or spent time on a farm.
According to the USDA, 97 percent of farms in the U.S. are family owned and operated. For all its growth and technological advancement, modern agriculture remains rooted in people. Gracious, welcoming, hard-working, innovative, thoughtful people. The kind of people who welcome a stranger into their homes and onto their fields, to help tell their stories.
Photographer Andy Caretto was raised in farm country, where he learned to hold a high opinion of farmers. Today he lives in St. Louis, Missouri surrounded by some of America's richest farmland. He was eager to experience what life is like on modern farms.
Watch the video below to hear him describe what he found.
During his time visiting these farmers, he found them walking their fields, cleaning and fixing equipment, harvesting crops, checking grain markets, chatting with coworkers, or just relaxing with their morning coffee.
While taking photographs, he got to know the farmers a little. Along the way, Caretto learned that farmers are friendly, hardworking, and savvy users of technology. He was particularly impressed by how they balanced that willingness to use modern technology with a dedication to values they inherited from generations before. He saw their passion for growing food and contributing to their communities. And even though they work the necessary long hours, they still manage to make time for family.
While taking photographs, he got to know the farmers a little. Along the way, Caretto learned that farmers are friendly, hardworking, and savvy users of technology. He was particularly impressed by how they balanced that willingness to use modern technology with a dedication to values they inherited from generations before. He saw their passion for growing food and contributing to their communities. And even though they work the necessary long hours, they still manage to make time for family.
Caretto was struck by the beauty he captured, the vibrant range of colors and textures in the fields. But most of all, he appreciated the people themselves, the hard workers with the servants’ hearts. This is their story.
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