By
Kristin Churchill
Assistant Editor
As far back as I can remember, my dad has always had a garden. He
loved spending time in his garden, which took up most of our backyard.
He’d meticulously turn the soil, water the foliage and pull
weeds. I think maybe it was in his blood since he grew up on an 80-acre
potato, pickle and melon farm.
I can remember my dad telling stories about growing up on a farm.
He told me how he would start picking potatoes at 7 a.m. and not finish
sorting and loading them onto trucks until 7 at night. But he also
had stories that showed just how much fun he had on the farm, including
learning to drive a tractor and truck well before his 16th birthday.
He said his favorite thing about growing up on a farm was spending
time outdoors – the fresh air, nature and open space.
I didn’t grow up on a farm. Instead I grew up in a fairly large
city in Southwest Michigan. But my dad’s garden brought a little
bit of his farm upbringing into my life. My dinner plate was always
full of food from my dad’s garden. My favorite was the rhubarb
my mom would bake in a pie. When I went off to college, I missed that
rhubarb pie more than anything else.
I love reading and writing, so going into journalism was something
I always knew I’d do. I attended the School of Journalism at
Michigan State University (MSU). While working for the school newspaper
and a newswire service, I covered a variety of topics, including the
hardships some farmers face because of urban sprawl. Those stories
hit close to home because I’m only one generation removed from
the farm.
After graduating from MSU, I worked as a reporter for a weekly newspaper
covering Grand Rapids, Mich., and the surrounding rural communities.
There I wrote about another hardship some growers face – commercial
businesses operating unregulated in agricultural zones.
While writing about these hardships, I learned a lot about the growers
and the land they farm. And I’m sure I’ll learn much more
about the agricultural industry while reporting for The Fruit Growers
News and The Vegetable Growers News. Agriculture is part of my dad’s
past, and I’m excited it’s going to be a part of my future.
