Farm Livin'

In "National Lampoon's Vacation," Audrey walks around her cousin Vicki's room and picks up a trophy.

"You won this for raising a pig?" she says.

"Yeah, first place."

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Farm living

Lowcountry produce increasingly found in area homes, restaurants.

"Does anybody know about it," Audrey asks.

"Everyone knows," Vicki responds.

"No offense, Vicki, but being a farmer is not cool," Audrey scoffs.

Twenty-five years ago, farming was not seen as cool.

The perception was that it was what you did because you lived in the country or because your family had always done it, certainly not because you wanted to.

Seemingly overnight, that has changed.

Much like the poets of the Romantic age turning their backs on the Industrial Revolution, people are leaving their desk jobs and turning to a more pastoral way of life.

We are looking to know where our food is grown, or even grow it ourselves, and those who provide us with those wares are suddenly way cool.

Driven by both economic reasons, those desk jobs aren’t so secure anymore, and a more primal need to be connected to the earth, it seems like everyone these days wants to be a farmer, or at least know one.

Louise Bennett, partner of Sidi Limehouse of Rosebank Farms, puts it best when she says of Sidi, "Everyone either knows him, wants to know him or says that they know him."

Sidi is truly a man of few words, offering only "I don't plant a lot of anything, but I plant a little of everything."

Nathan Thurston of The Ocean Room had this to say about Sidi, "Isn't it ironic that the person who has the most control over The Ocean Room menu isn't me? It's Sidi Limehouse. We cook whatever he grows; every fruit and vegetable he grows is first class, so we commit to using them. In a way, it's kind of a challenge for us and it never gets old."

High praise indeed.

Mike Lata of FIG believes it is not just any farmer who is getting the recognition: It is the farmer who is committed to certain types of practices.

"These growers that are getting the notoriety, they have a different approach to farming," he says.

"Celebrity farmers are becoming that way because they are farming for restaurants. It is only fair for chefs to pass the buck on to the grower. It's not just produce, though," Lata says. "The guys who raise livestock are getting the exact same treatment. We, as chefs, are going to give them all the credit that we can for the delicious food. We are just trying not to screw up what they have given us."

A rise in localism also has fueled this changed. As gas prices increased, many decided to look at what was available in our own backyards before making the decision to have something shipped from California.

Along with the lower cost, we realized there was another benefit.

"Why wouldn't I support my community? Why wouldn't I support my local farmers," asks Brett McKee of Oak Steakhouse, 17 North and O-ku. "When you support the people in your community, that comes back to you."

When asked why the perception of farming has changed in the past few years, most farmers had a very similar response.

Meg Moore, who is in the process of starting her own sustainable farming project, says, "I think we got away from how we were supposed to be living.

"A few years ago, you started hearing about organic foods, organic farming and farmers markets. People want to get back to simpler lives and be a part of their community. Food always brings people together, and the farmer is the proper spokesperson for that."

Nico Romo of Fish Restaurant agrees.

"This lifestyle is nothing new, we just got lost in the masses for a while. Profit margins were more important than quality. Thankfully, we have turned away from that and gone back to the basics," he says.

Farrah Hoffmire, purveyor of Giddy Goat, says the farm life is something she was always drawn to, she just couldn't quite make out what path it was going to take.

"As a kid, I was always drawn to pictures of sheep farmers in Ireland and Scotland. I loved National Geographic magazines. I always wanted to do something that involved farming, but I never knew it would be goat cheese.

"I simply fell in love with the process. I started doing it for friends, and when they started paying me, I knew I was on to something."

Hoffmire's only challenge at this point is keeping up with demand.

"Rosebank Farms is my biggest seller, but we are also carried in McCrady's, Bin 152, and we are working on getting into Whole Foods in September. I just had to hire my first employee!"

This lifestyle is a labor of love, and it has its advantages, but it is not for everyone.

"It's 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," cautions Erin Forte, daughter of Celeste Albers of Green Grocer.

Forte has been working on a farm since she was three years old and she knows the good, bad and ugly sides of the business.

"I'm a country girl. I love the animals and I love the way we live, but I don't think that I will choose this business for myself. It is very hard work for sometimes not much money," she says.

"What people don't understand is that this is a job that you have to go to every single day. There is never a vacation, a holiday or a sick day. Squash needs to be picked all the time and it won't wait for you. If you don't pick it, you lose money."

It's a hard job, but we are thankful to those who wake up hours before the sun comes up to do it.

Farming has always been cool; we just needed to be reminded.