March Updates on THE LAST CROP and introducing Katie Cooper

Hi I'm Chuck - one of the filmmakers and this is my first blog.


I just returned from a trip to the Bay Area and Central Valley, where we had our first public screening of The Last Crop's 10 minute work-in-progress. Our hosts were Slow Food Alameda, Capay Valley Vision with 20 Capay Valley farmers (yikes) and UC Davis' Center for Regional Change and Students for Sustainable Agriculture.


I am happy to write that I was greatly encouraged by how well the film was received at all the venues. Our audiences were small ranging between 12-20 but they really connected to our characters - Annie and Jeff Main. They wanted to know more about them and how they could help. There was lots of positive feedback about the film's content, the power of Annie and Jeff's personal story and their commitment to sustaining Good Humus Produce as a working farm. This was the start of our decision to carry out public screening forums throughout the film's production. Dave and I feel that these events will help us build our audience and gain supporters for the project. In fact, all three venues asked us to come back with a new longer version which will be edited in the next couple of months.


No matter what venue questions arose: regarding further clarification of the Main's farm easement? Should we continue using our working title The Last Crop? (it is provocative) Many wanted to see more hard data about our country's farmers and their shrinking number and of course where does the film goes from here? Members of Slow Food Alameda expressed their pleasure in seeing the people behind their weekly CSA (community supported agriculture) boxes. In response to our decision to focus on one small family farm in CA's big Central Valley one member quoted Margaret Mead "No change has ever been made without it starting with an individual."


I admit I was nervous about screening the film at the Guinda Grange Hall with 20 local farmers but I was heartened by their general support for our story and our commitment to giving a small family farm in the Central Valley a voice. Yes, they had issues with how we will connect the Main's story to the big issues facing them - regulations, the drought & the economy. They wanted us to clarify farm preservation versus farm succession, show where Annie and Jeff's CSAs wind up, develop the threat of urban sprawl to their way of life but I feel that we all gained a certain amount of trust for each other from the screening.


At UC Davis - Zack Main (Annie and Jeff's 24 year old son) joined me for the discussion. As I had hoped, the students connected with Zack and his honesty regarding his life on the family farm; his decision to take another career path as a fireman; and that although difficult he supports his parent's decision that he and his sisters will not inherit their family farm so that Good Humus Produce will continue to be a viable working farm into the future. The students also voiced their want for us to include the Main's organic/sustainable farming practices.Oh and out of that screening - I am delighted to introduce you to Katie Cooper who has volunteered to help us with her own blog regarding Good Humus Produce and The Last Crop. Katie works with Annie on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Davis Farmers Market while she studies International Agricultural Development at UC Davis.


So please check out Katie's blog.