Saving the Farm

We like to romanticize farming – but the truth is that it’s tough, complicated, sometimes dangerous work. Technology has made some of that work easier, but it’s also brought a whole new set of pressures. In today’s episode, we hear about what some people are doing to help save America’s family farms.

Also heard on this week’s show:

• Pennsylvania dairy farmer Frank Hartley sheds light on factors behind the falling price of milk
• Farmers in Boulder County, Colorado are facing a ban on growing genetically engineered crops. Reporter Liz Tung talks with Paul Schlagel and his son Scott about what that means for their family farm.
• Ann López, executive director of the Center for Farmworker Families, talks about the serious health challenges facing farmworkers in the US and Mexico.
• Reporter Alan Yu looks at the stresses behind farmers’ high suicide rates, and how some of them deal with the pressure.
• What’s it like to deliver piglets or get hit by a cow? Farm veterinarian Linda Kauffman gives us the scoop.