What are your favorite Farming Documentaries?

naomi.kohlmeier

I recently watched The Biggest Little Farm on Netflix. I thought it was a well done film. The camerawork was beautiful and it was interesting to see how they overcame their problems.

I've also watched Sustainable, which I liked as well. Both are a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit and trying to make the planet a better place to live.

Are there any that you would recommend as a must see? Which are a waste of time? I don't watch much in the way of movies so don't want to waste my time watching something that is of no interest to me or poorly done.

Dave S., Zone 5B, 1300 ft, 11" rain

Well, having started with Biggest Little Farm, you probably won't find any better looking documentaries. The husband of that family was an experienced wildlife photographer with decades of experience before they bought the farm. No one else is going to have those kind of cinematography skills.

But there are still plenty of good films and things to be learned. For one, I love finding things on YouTube. I have several playlists I have been slowing compiling over the years that match with my interests-- regenerative agriculture, permaculture, dryland/desert forestation, etc.

Also I tend to look for specific geniuses in the fields I'm interested in and follow them. Joel Salatin for pasture/livestock raising, Alan Savory for livestock management in desertified areas, Mark Shepard for agroforestry, Brad Lancaster for rainwater harvesting, Colin Seis for pasture cropping, Ben Falk for temperate/cold area permaculture, and so on. If any of those match your interests, I'm happy to share some links.

One of the most fascinating documentaries that haunts me to this day is "Hanging Gardens of Arabia", which is a look how 50 years ago, a functioning, sustainable watershed ecosystem gradually destroyed itself because of the introduction of modern technology. In this case, it was an arid landscape in Yemen, but the lessons seem universal. If you have Amazon Prime, it is available free to watch, at least in the USA. https://www.amazon.com/Hanging-Gardens-Arabia-DigiComTV/dp/B00CSG4MYO

That's probably enough for one comment, I'll post more as I remember them.

naomi.kohlmeier

@seasparrow32 thank you! I agree that the cinematography was outstanding on Biggest Little Farm.

I didn't even think of following specific individuals or topics on YouTube. I'll be looking into that soon. Regenerative agriculture would be of interest to me.

I don't have Amazon Prime. I wonder if there is another way to watch the "Hanging Gardens of Arabia".

Dave S., Zone 5B, 1300 ft, 11" rain

It's on YouTube, but these things come and go. For now, 08 August 2020, here is a link:

https://youtu.be/CxAE5GG8L0k

naomi.kohlmeier

Thanks!

naomi.kohlmeier

That was an interesting documentary. It is amazing how much knowledge there is about farming and how varied the ways of farming practices.

nicksamanda11

I like David the Goods compost the movie

Lisa K

FMTV had a really good one on organic gardening; however, since they are now Gaia I do not see it any more; however, they have other series for gardening, one series that looks interesting is Ageless Gardens.