Cedarville Magazine, Summer 2013

28 | Cedarville Magazine Whilemany of us will spend the summer working inside air-conditioned offices and perhaps enjoying a family vacation, a tight- knit community of harvesters will traverse the country in travel trailers, from Texas to Montana. For up to seven months, they will labor long hours in the heat harvesting America’s wheat crops. This way of life may seem difficult to imagine for urban and suburban Americans, many of whom have little understanding about how a loaf of bread gets to their kitchen tables. For Conrad Weaver ’88, President of Conjostudios, LLC, this is a story that needs to be told. Since 2011 he has been shooting and producing a documentary film called The Great American Wheat Harvest . Its promotional trailer, featuring Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, has already won an award. Since his childhood on a northeast Ohio dairy farm, Weaver has loved agriculture and farming. He spent summers milking cows, baling hay, and cultivating corn on his grandfather’s farm. Although the majority of American farms today are still family- owned, Weaver has found that small, family farms are being eclipsed by 10,000-acre industrial farms. He wanted to capture the harvesting stories and lifestyle before it was too late. Weaver recently spent a week with a harvesting family in Nebraska whose lives revolve around the harvest. Each year in May, they pack up their RV and live on the road working nonstop through September. As he interviewed the family’s teen daughters, Weaver learned that their dad drives the combine, their mom drives the grain truck, and the girls do the laundry, shopping, and cooking for the family and take the meals out to the field workers each day. by Carol Lee ’96 Feeding America: Behind the Scenes “Every two or three weeks they move north to the next wheat farm,” saidWeaver. “They recalled all the places around the country where they’ve celebrated the Fourth of July. Their favorite family memories are sitting in the back of their pickup truck together watching the sunset. They live and breathe this life and wouldn’t think of doing anything else.” This project has been educational for the former psychology major and Cedars editor who always had his camera in hand. “Although the average age of a farmer is 57 years old, younger people are showing a renewed interest in agriculture,” Weaver said, “but this is not the way your grandfather farmed. The industry today is steeped in the science of farming, learning how to grow more with less.” Weaver learned that it takes about 10 years of research before seed is released to a farmer to buy and plant. He interviewed a wheat genetics professor at Oklahoma State University who leads one of the top wheat breeding programs in the country. They are cross-pollinating and testing a number of wheat varieties — first in their greenhouses, then in their test fields, and finally in a baking lab — to produce the best possible seed that yields the best tasting bread. “Their end goal is to create wheat varieties that will produce more yield in the same amount of land with less water,” Weaver said. Researchers project the world population will top nine billion by 2040 at a time when natural resources, like water, are already in high demand. “The Southwest and Midwest in particular are facing drier conditions, and researchers are working on wheat varieties that will grow better in arid conditions and produce more food on the same amount of land,” he said. Weaver has seen God’s hand in this project from the beginning, from professional connections and personal friendships he has made to the organizations and corporations that have come on board to raise money and sponsor the film. With help from a small crew, Weaver is doing the principle photography and production himself. He anticipates a March 2014 debut in Washington, D.C., on National Agriculture Day followed by a 10-state tour of the “wheat belt.” He is also pitching the film to national cable networks. “It’s important for consumers to know what goes into food production,” Weaver said. “This project has givenme a greater awareness about the food I eat and a deeper appreciation for what it takes to feed America.” Conrad Weaver ’88 is President and owner of Conjostudios, LLC. He and his wife, Jodi, live in Emmitsburg, Maryland, with their two children and their garden. Find news and updates about the film online on Facebook (search “wheat harvest movie”) or Twitter (@ wheat_harvest). You may contact Weaver at info@conjostudios.com. Carol Lee ’96 is the Managing Editor of Cedarville Magazine and Senior Communication Specialist in Marketing. You may contact her at carollee@cedarville.edu. Photos: ConradWeaver