The Real Dirt on Farmer John

I don't watch a lot of documentaries, and I don't read a lot of memoirs. However, to my surprise, I found The Real Dirt on Farmer John rather compelling. It isn’t difficult to see the plot unfolding through this nonfiction narrative. Any viewer can relate as John Peterson experiences the loss of family members and the failure of romantic relationships, and while he is in many ways an atypical farmer, he experienced the ups and downs of farming just like everyone else. The ‘80s hit him hard, but he found a way to succeed even in the face of impending bankruptcy: community supported agriculture. 

Most interestingly in my opinion, the film reveals a rigidity within farm culture that I never thought about before, but which in retrospect seems fairly obvious. We couldn't have the farmer stereotype if it wasn't true of a significant portion of the farmer population at some point in history. Apparently even farmers think that farmers should be wiry, stubborn, conservative men who wear overalls and trucker caps. John Peterson loved to farm, but in most ways, he didn’t fit the image. His voice and movements fit not into the farmer stereotype, but into the gay man stereotype, which was enough to raise the suspicions of his neighbors. His frequent escapes to Mexico to find himself spiritually during times of hardship give the impression of a man with the spirit of a poet.

Whenever he attempted to display his individuality through his clothing and the people he'd bring to the farm, he was met with considerable backlash from his community. It seems so strange that even in the relatively isolated communities of farming, differences could spark so much hostility. This suggests that the monoculture of farming doesn’t just refer to the crops. Everyone plants one kind of corn, and everyone projects the image of one kind of farmer. John Peterson was only able to achieve success on his farm when he embraced his own quirks and let the community embrace him back, and it makes me wonder if the traditional farmer mold is actually one of the reasons for the decline of farming in recent decades. Maybe there are few who want to be a farmer, but many who would enjoy being themselves while also farming.

Siegel, Taggart. The Real Dirt On Farmer John. Full frame [ed.] New York: Gaiam Media, 2008.