Henry's Farm is in central Illinois, some of the richest farming land in the world. There, Henry Brockman and his family — five generations of farmers, including sister Terra — farm in a way that produces healthy, nutritious food without despoiling the land. Terra Brockman tells their story in the form of a yearlong diary/memoir — with recipes — that takes readers through each season of life on the farm. Studded with vignettes, photographs, family stories, and illustrations of the farm's vivid plant life, the book is a one-of-a-kind treasure that will appeal to readers of Michael Pollan, E. B. White, Gretel Ehrlich, and Sandra Steingraber. The book opens a window into what sustainable farming really entails and why it is vital and relevant to everyone who eats. Though rooted in the rolling oak-hickory hills and fertile fields and flood plains of the Mackinaw River Valley, the book ranges widely, incorporating literary, scientific, and culinary reflections occasioned by the week-by-week events of farm life.
Terra Brockman was born in Florida (where her father was earning his PhD in genetics, and where her older brother inadvertently chopped off part of her finger when she was two), but raised in central Illinois, where four generations of her family had farmed.
Of course she couldn't wait to leave what seemed a capital B Backwater, so she "lit out for the territories" when she was eighteen. After spending time at the University of Oregon and the University of California at Berkeley, and finishing up an undergraduate and graduate degree in English Literature and Biology at Illinois State University, she went to Japan and worked as a teacher, writer, and editor for five years, and then to New York City where she worked as a writer and editor for almost a decade.
During those years, she traveled extensively, from Nepal to Eritrea to Morocco to the Baltics. While visiting "third world" countries she found she often ate better foods than in the U.S. because their foods were fresh, local, and unprocessed. As she gradually returned to her roots in central Illinois, Terra realized that the best food in the world could and should be grown in the rich soils of Illinois and that it was a matter of national security that communities be able to feed themselves.
In 2001, she founded The Land Connection, a nonprofit working to save farmland, train new farmers, and connect consumers with fresh local foods. Terra has eaten bacon-wrapped duck testicles, but her favorite food is a lightly fried duck egg on toast.
Terra regularly writes and speaks on food and agriculture topics. More information is available at TerraBrockman"dot"com.
