New Farmers: An Interdisciplinary Starter Grant

Led by KU Faculty members D. Bryon Darby (Photo Media), Paul Stock (Sociology and the Environmental Studies Program), and Tim Hossler (Visual Communication), this collaborative research project tells the story of a new breed of farmer — the first-generation, small-scale, sustainable farmer.

Through extensive interviews with first-generation farmers, the research team sought to “challenge and expand our image of today’s farmer” by documenting diverse practices and the “hope of possibility” that the farmers represent. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the research challenges the perceived reality of agriculture in America through interviews and photographs, a traveling exhibition, and consequently, a larger conversation.