"This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm" by Ted Genoways, 240 pages, $26.95
In "This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm," Nebraska author Ted Genoways provides an exceptional examination of the family farms that are the heart of Nebraska. "This Blessed Earth" chronicles a year on a fifth generation family farm run by Rick Hammond near Benedict, Nebraska, beginning with the fall harvest in 2014.
The tasks of the year make it quickly apparent that the mere title of farmer is pregnant with meaning. The farmer acts as scientist — studying and experimenting to produce the best crop yields; mechanic — performing emergency fixes in the field on complex machinery; commodities traders — playing the markets to maximize profits; and gamblers — in almost every action they take.
The Hammonds are further thrust into the unique role of involuntary environmental activists during the year Genoways shadowed them, as they are faced with the threat of the Keystone XL pipeline bisecting their land.
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Interspersed in this story are fascinating history lessons — like Henry Ford’s role in the ubiquitous soybean production in America — and explanations of modern farming practices — including the evolution of GMO crops and the business practices associated with this technology.
Genoways also captures the family behind the farm: the great-great-grandfather that first settled in Nebraska under the Homestead Act; the generations that moved away only to be drawn back to the land and their home place; the succession of the farm between generations. These vignettes provide the reason to care about the future of the family farm.
Ted Genoways’s passion for the family farm and his skill as a writer are apparent. Amidst the toil of the farmer and the dire future of small scale farming, the nobility of the calling and the necessity of preserving family farms are clear. In the field of journalism, "This Blessed Earth" is a bumper crop.