Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer

Impact Farming

In this week’s episode, Tracy chats with author Brian Reisinger about his compelling book, Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer. If you're passionate about both reading and farming, this book and episode are for you. In the book and throughout this conversation, Brian takes us on a journey through the history of farming in the United States, from the 1920s to today, revealing the profound highs and devastating lows, the economic booms and busts, and how American farmers ultimately became forgotten. He emphasizes that this outcome didn’t have to happen. As he discusses the evolution of American agriculture, Brian intertwines the story of his own family—starting with his great-grandfather, who fled Europe to escape war, only to face unimaginable hardships and personal tragedies while trying to build and sustain a growing farm family. This has quickly become one of my favorite books, and I highly recommend listening to the episode and then grabbing a copy. It will change the way you view agriculture, both past and present, and it will transform how you think about your own ancestors and their farming journeys. This book is a powerful blend of history, personal loss, and triumph in a way that’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. Thanks for tuning in, Tracy ............................... About the Book

Taking on this working-class story of heart and hardship, award-winning writer and rural policy expert Brian Reisinger weaves forgotten eras of American history with his own family’s four-generation fight for survival in Midwestern farm country. Readers learn the truth about America’s most detrimental and unexplained socioeconomic crisis: How the family farms that feed us went from cutting a middle-class path through the Great Depression to barely making ends meet in modern America. Along the way, they’ll see what it truly takes to feed our country: accidents that can kill or maim; weather that blesses or threatens; resilience in the face of crushing economic crises, from depressions and recessions to COVID-19; and the tradition that presses down on each generation when you're not just fighting for your job, you're fighting for your heritage. Praise For The Book: The hidden history of an economic and cultural crisis that is threatening our very food supply—the disappearance of the American farmer. Critically acclaimed with praise from across the political spectrum, Land Rich, Cash Poor reveals the urgent, unflinching truth.

| “An anthem to the family farm in America.” — AP News | “A beautiful book. You won’t want to put it down.” — Peter Slevin, contributing writer for The New Yorker | “Well worth reading for those who care about what we eat and where it comes from.” — Mike Gousha, Emmy-award-winning journalist and PBS documentarian

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SHOW RESOURCES

Brian's Website: https://www.brian-reisinger.com Book Available For Purchase on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Land-Rich-Cash-Poor-Disappearing/dp/1510779981

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Canada’s Largest Independent Seed Company - Learn More Here

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