We set out in May 2014 to capture the stories of farmers in, not knowing exactly what to expect. We found a diverse landscape of hard working farmers all with different perspectives on what food means to them. To Live Local represents a collection of stories from the farmers we met.
Potatoes, sugar beets, onions, corn, and the dairy/cattle industry have made Idaho’s agriculture world famous, while also establishing its economic prosperity. However, with an ever changing food system and global concerns, farmers everywhere are forced to re-evaluate the way they operate and interact with food, the land, and their communities.
To Live Local explores farming operations that span Idaho and capture first-hand accounts on how farmers, while maintaining unrelated but similar visions of reinforcing their community’s food system, utilize different agricultural methods, technologies, and marketing strategies to diversify their operations to be competitive in today’s market.
The farmers profiled in this film skillfully introduce their unique perspectives on sustainable and regenerative agriculture and the state of local food systems in their communities. To Live Local introduces you to:
- a fifth generation farmer who is shifting his family farming practices into a holistic and regenerative management approach
- a man who has traveled the world but fell in love with the healing mineral spring waters of the Hagerman Valley and developed a geothermal heated greenhouse farm
- a young farming couple who strive to give back to their community by providing good, organic produce to their community
- a seasoned farmer who has transitioned away from growing food, but now focuses time on growing farmers
- farmers and community organizers in a remote Idaho town trying to explore the foundation of a sustainable future
- a man who was called by God to create an oasis in the high elevation desert by establishing a state of the art farming and aquaponic operation
- a women who has been raising and selling grass-fed lamb and pastured poultry for over 20 years struggling to keep her local operations alive
Together these profiled stories intertwine to illustrate the dynamic ways farmers are reinforcing a possible future of our food system.