Kern Family Recipe

Being part of a fifth generation farm and ranch family from southern Montana, I have a special connection to the agriculture that supports our country and the world. In 1900, 41% of the U.S.workforce were employed in agriculture, and in 2000, only 1.9% were. As the small family farms that used to dominate our country disappear, fewer U.S. citizens understand what takes place there. Urban dwellers buy their food from a grocery store, and may never know where it came from or what it took to get the produce there. As a photographer that grew up in an agricultural family, I have an obligation and a passion to share this disappearing occupation with the world. My project, Kern Family Recipe, enables me to create a document of what farm and ranch life is like in 2012. I can then use it to provide insight into agriculture for others around the world. This project also allows me to step back and observe a lifestyle in which I am usually the participant.

Being part of a fifth generation farm and ranch family from southern Montana, I have a special connection to the agriculture that supports our country and the world. In 1900, 41% of the U.S.workforce were employed in agriculture, and in 2000, only 1.9% were. As the small family farms that used to dominate our country disappear, fewer U.S. citizens understand what takes place there. Urban dwellers buy their food from a grocery store, and may never know where it came from or what it took to get the produce there. As a photographer that grew up in an agricultural family, I have an obligation and a passion to share this disappearing occupation with the world. My project, Kern Family Recipe, enables me to create a document of what farm and ranch life is like in 2012. I can then use it to provide insight into agriculture for others around the world. This project also allows me to step back and observe a lifestyle in which I am usually the participant.