NPR

In 'This Blessed Earth,' The Outdated Romance Of The Family Farm

Journalist Ted Genoways spent a year on a small farm in rural Nebraska, and he says American nostalgia for the family farm overlooks the pressures farmers face and the realities of food production.

Lincoln is just 40 miles into Nebraska and yet there's almost no one between that city and the state's far western border.

That's how journalist and author Ted Genoways sees it. He spent a year studying a family farm in sparsely-populated York County, an hour outside Lincoln, and writes about it in his new book, This Blessed Earth.

"Nebraska is a land of ghosts of small towns dwindling to the

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR3 min read
Floods In Southern Brazil Kill At Least 75 People Over 7 Days
Massive floods in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103 were reported missing, local authorities said Sunday.
NPR2 min read
Mystik Dan Wins The Kentucky Derby By A Nose
In a close finish, Mystik Dan won the Kentucky Derby by a horse's nostril over Sierra Leone. Contenders waited with bated breath in the seconds before the official decision was made. The thoroughbred had entered the race with 18-1 odds — a longshot c
NPR2 min readWorld
Ukraine's Zelenskyy Calls God An "Ally" Against Russia In Orthodox Easter Message
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians in an Easter address to be united in prayer and called God an "ally" in the war with Russia.

Related Books & Audiobooks