Happy Harvest in Missouri

August 31, 2012

Did you know that Missouri has the second largest number of farms in the United States? Come to the Missouri Harvest…OR…read… Missouri Harvesters: A Guide to Growers and Producers in the Show-Me State.

This book has the subtitle "A Guide to Growers and Producers in the Show-Me State,” but I really think it has so much more meat (get it, meat to it). I used to live on a farm, so when I can, I try to support the local farmers by going to the markets close by. Missouri offers plenty of locally grown produce and sustainable products, so why not support them? I went to a local farmer’s market and spoke to one of the farmers, and he stated his water bill was over $700.00. Wow!!! I wanted to buy every piece of organic produce he had to offer.

Each farm in this book gets a paragraph or two about how they grow their produce, what they actually grow, and how long they have been doing it. The book is also divided by food type and subdivided by region. The region break down gives emphasis to wherever you are in Missouri so that you can quickly find out where and how to buy your produce.

If you are interested in the history of agriculture, this book offers information regarding. If you want to know why sustainable produce matters, there is an interesting review dedicated to that topic as well. I especially liked the back part of the book, which includes tips and recipes on how to cook Missouri’s yummy produce, and some of the recipes come from the farmers themselves.

Beth F.
Boardwalk Branch