Apparently, this photo of Michael Irving is the shot seen around the world. After appearing in Edible Portland, Mike was the poster boy (literally) for the "Grow a Farmer" Campaign for the UCSC Farm. There, Mike had been both an apprentice and a Second-Year, selected to help mentor the next class of apprentices).
A couple of weeks ago, I got a note from a young lady named Eve, who works for The Huffington Post, asking me if I would submit some photos of cute or handsome or pretty farmers. I sent her a bunch, and she used a couple in this Huffington Post slideshow in which you can vote for the Hottest/Cutest organic farmer. Mike's currently running in third place, but Michelle Obama has an unfair advantage, I think.
Other friends who appear in the slideshow are Daniel Paduano (Abounding Harvest Mountain Farm) and Rebecca Thistlethwaite and Jim Dunlop (TLC Ranch). I agree that Annie Novak, currently #2, is quite beautiful, but I don't think rooftop gardening is farming—the scope of the work simply cannot compare.
The thought that originated "I Heart Farms" was this: I wanted anyone who saw my work to ask themselves, "Where's my pretty little farm? Where's my pretty little farmer?" (You get the point.)
No wonder these young people are my heroes. Anyone who farms with this level of care and commitment is beautiful to me. You?
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "Do you know what a farm is? 'Cause I just found out…and WOW. They're amazing. Turns out that if you put a seed in the ground, and then with some time, water, and a little love, eventually it grows up to be a corndog. Well, our nation's farms need your help. To donate $5, text FARMER to 90999 on your cell phone. If you won't do it for the farmers, do it for our Jolly Ranchers." —Stephen Colbert, for Farm Aid
Thanks for visiting.
When I talk with a local farmer, we talk about the process of creating food that nourishes; so, we may talk about soil, weather, crop varieties, or the hundreds of other details involved in raising food. I always come away with more insight on the complexities of farming.
When I last spoke with a "business farmer" (who raised pigs in a factory-like setting), the conversation centered on making money: how to cut costs, sell at the right time, and so on. He could care less that what he fed his pigs (high sugar diet) impacted the quality and nutritional value of the meat.
Two very different worlds, and I know which one I prefer.
Posted by: GaryM | 13 October 2009 at 06:29 PM
I went to HP and voted a big fat 10 for both Mike and the TLC hotties. I do prefer, though, your photo of Mike with the kitten on his shoulder. Those blue eyes!
Posted by: Love Apple Farm | 23 October 2009 at 05:47 PM
O.M.G. i so badly can't wait to click on that link...but to be polite (and say hi..."Hi!") I'm commenting first...
but now...onto hotties...
Posted by: jaden | 19 December 2009 at 04:47 PM
I'm so excited that I just came across this blog! I love it. Have lots of reading to do now.
Michelle
a someday farmer.
Posted by: Michelle | 22 December 2009 at 06:32 AM
LOL, funny blog post!
Posted by: Brenna | 30 December 2009 at 03:25 PM
I found your food blog going through a few links. Glad I ran into it. Didn’t know that the food blog/recipe community was so big online. I love your posts!
I was wondering if you would like to exchange links. I’ll drop yours on my site and you drop mine on yours. Email at [email protected] or stop by my site and drop a comment. Let me know if you would like to do a link exchange.
Cheers,
Caleb
http://www.ramendays.com
Posted by: Caleb | 05 January 2010 at 05:22 PM
Yes all of us farmers are so beautiful...snort! Kim
Posted by: the inadvertent farmer | 14 January 2010 at 05:52 PM
Hello, my name is Tim and I wanted to let you know about an article I wrote for my site called "30 Old MacDonald Had a Farm Blogs" located here: http://www.bestcollegesonline.net/blog/2010/30-old-macdonald-had-a-farm-blogs/
This article basically list the top sites about farm blogs and your site made the list based on the great content and message it sends. I thought you might like to share that with you readers.
Thank you
-Tim
Posted by: Tim Handorf | 25 January 2010 at 08:28 PM
This is so funny. So farmers have supplanted chefs as the new hotties? I think that's great. Farmers are so often under-appreciated as it is, they deserve all the glowing attention and accolades they can get.
Posted by: Carolyn Jung | 26 January 2010 at 08:58 PM
"Excellent farming blog! I, too, used to run a farm (just a small hobby farm), but that was too much trouble time-wise since I wasn't able to spend a lot of time there. And, by the way, I can't imagine myself having enough time for farming AND blogging. Not sure how you do that. :) Do you live at your farm location throughout the year?
Posted by: sums | 02 February 2010 at 12:30 PM
Out of all the farmers you have photos of, I think I only spotted on who is not white. Farmers of color are beautiful too (and seem to be quite under-represented here).
Posted by: Tracee | 05 February 2010 at 02:53 PM
I don't know about pretty farmers, but we have some pretty cows (well steers, to be precise). We have also started a business to help smaller indpendent farmers reach customers through the Internet. Please take a look and feel free to sign up - it's totally free to do so! You may find us at http://www.homegrowncow.com/?src=ihf and we're open to questions comments and suggestions.
Thanks,
John
Posted by: John Aikman | 21 January 2011 at 12:46 PM