Overview

We all eat. By the time food gets to your plate it has been on a journey. Open this book to the start of that journey, where much of your food (and flowers) comes from. Some of the best soil in the world lies north of Seattle in the fertile Skagit River Valley. More than 90 crops are grown by farmers who immigrated from Europe, Japan, and Mexico. Farming is labor intensive and repetitive throughout the seasons, and daily tasks are required to keep the crops thriving. Wanting to show the unique mechanics of farming and who is involved in tending and harvesting the foods we eat, Craig J. Barber has spent years visiting and photographing land and life on small mostly organic farms. He interviewed farmers, many of them third and fourth generation, whose stories are featured in these pages. He spent time with the field workers, not taking photos right away but gaining their trust. As a result of his persistence, Barber captures the physical demands and artistry of farming—field workers tossing cabbages up to another crew member in the back of a truck, a crew walking bent over behind a planter-tractor to make sure the seedlings are set correctly, the care and tenderness of those caring for livestock, the beauty of a kale field in the snow, and the drama of harvesting leeks on a winter night under a spotlight. Where Our Food Comes From is a book with many facets. Look at and savor the rich photographs. Read the farmers’ stories. Study the facts and figures to expand your knowledge about farmland, food, and farmers. The “magical” Skagit River Valley is unique in producing so much of the United States's and world’s food (and flowers), but it is also a microcosm of the universal and worthy occupation of raising food. In Craig Barber’s unforgettable book, we see how hard work, careful planning, and a love of the land combine to feed the world.

Full Product Details

9781960521101

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Western Washington's Skagit Valley is the focus of this remarkable collection of photographs that highlights both the region's fertile agricultural landscape as well as the farmers and farm workers who make that landscape possible. Focused on seven mostly organic farms in the valley, Craig Barber's feast of images and prose--in the spirit of Wendell Berry--celebrates how the intimate connections between people, animals, and crops produce the food we consume every day.""--William K. Wycoff Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences at Montana State University, author of 'How to Read the American West' ""Where Our Food Comes From is an eye-opening experience as Craig J. Barber combines his photos with interviews to give the reader a glimpse as to what day to day looks like on a farm in America in 2025. We see the implementation of technology, the impacts of climate change, and the human connection that brings the food we eat from seed to table. I grew up away from agriculture, but I commute through these fields every day and frequently admire the ever-changing crops and the dedication the workers have to the crops and livestock they tend. Barber's book illuminates the human touch behind the food we eat in a way I have neither seen nor considered. I think many people today are seeing the automation of so many industries and are themselves moving so fast that they don't think about the source of their food--but, thankfully, Where Our Food Comes From reminds us of the delicate and vital role that farmers and farm workers provide in feeding people all over the U.S. and world. Barber's book is a triumph in conveying that message through words and images.""--Laynie Moran, Collection Manager, Skagit County Historical Museum

Author Information

Craig J. Barber is a Northwest-based photographer documenting farmers and their work—growing our food. For more than 30 years he has focused on cultural landscapes in rapid transition, some fading from memory. His work has explored Viet Nam, Havana, Tuscany, and farmers in the Finger Lakes and Catskill Mountain regions of New York State and now the Skagit Valley in Washington State. He has taught photo workshops and lectured about photography throughout the United States, Ireland, Central Europe, and Mexico, using alternative cameras and antiquarian processes. Barber has been awarded grants and residencies from the Seattle Arts Commission, Polaroid Corporation, New York Foundation for the Arts, MacDowell Fellowship, Light Work, Glacier National Park, and the Constance Saltonstall Foundation. His work is represented in more than 50 public and private collections, including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, Center for Photography at Woodstock, Chrysler Museum of Art, George Eastman Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Museum of Art, Houston, and Victoria & Albert Museum, among others. Barber’s photographs have been exhibited in both group exhibitions and more than 80 solo exhibitions in Europe, South America, and North America. His previous book is Ghosts in the Landscape: Viet Nam Revisited (Umbrage Editions, 2006). John Seibert Farnsworth joined the faculty of Santa Clara University (SCU) in 2005, where his teaching and research focused on environmental writing and literature. He retired as Senior Lecturer in Environmental Studies and Sciences, Emeritus, in 2018. His books include Reading Nature: The Evolution of American Nature Writing (Michigan State University Press, 2025), Nature beyond Solitude: Notes from the Field (Cornell University Press, 2020), and Coves of Departure: Field Notes from the Sea of Cortes (Cornell University Press, 2018). Dr. Farnsworth lives in Skagit County, Washington, with his wonderful wife, Carol, to whom all of his books are dedicated.

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