The Farming Chronicles

Food is a fundamental need to survive. It is important for us to be conscious of the choices that we make on what is consumed.  

The Farming Chronicles is an education workbook that was created for children to talk about what they eat, where it comes from, and why it matters. It concerned me that in some areas in the United States agricultural education is not a core subject. The premise of this project is to introduce the fundamentals of agriculture and inspire children and their families to take an active role in understanding how food gets to the table. I created #beyourownfarmer to emphasize that you do not need to own acres of land to be defined as a farmer. There are many other opportunities for one to engage in agricultural activities and be a part of a greater community. Some examples include tending your own family garden, visiting your local farmer’s market or state and county fairs, and joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm Share program. 

With this project, I want to educate and increase agricultural literacy. This resource provides a basic understanding of how farming works in the United States, while actively engaging it’s readers through stories, illustrations, and activities. Accredited research for this project has been collected from farms in the surrounding Hudson Valley area, curriculum booklets, farming encyclopedias, books from Sojourner Truth Library, and interviews from workers in the agricultural field. By introducing this to younger generations, we can utilize our resources more efficiently. The overall goal of this project is to bridge the gap between consumers and farmers by using this information to minimize the misconceptions of the agricultural industry.