'Greenhorns:' A New Kind Of Farmer, A New Kind Of Farm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH7o3fxw6oE

The average American farmer is 57 years old. For decades, young people have been leaving the family farm for more lucrative or glamorous careers in the city, while much of the land they've left behind has been bought up by huge agricultural conglomerates or sold off to real estate developers.

But a new kind of agriculture is luring a new kind of farmer back to the land and a new documentary sheds light on not-your-grandfather's farmer.

"The Greenhorns," which premiers Wednesday at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, is the work of an organization also called The Greenhorns, which seeks to promote and support the work of young farmers practicing small-scale, sustainable agriculture.

Severine von Tscharner Fleming directed and narrated the film. She is also the director of the Greenhorns organization, and president of the National Young Farmer Coalition. She farms in New York's Hudson Valley, but she hails from Cambridge originally.

Chris Yoder grows organic vegetables on the 5-acre Vanguarden Farm in Dover, Mass. He's also on the board of the Waltham Fields Community Farms, and is very involved in the movement that Fleming documented.

So, who is this new kind of farmer and why did he or she choose farming? And what does it mean for U.S. agriculture?

Guests:

"The Greenhorns" premiers Wednesday at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge at 7 p.m. The film is followed by a panel discussion with local farmers and farming advocates.