Riverbend Farm: Organic Farmland in Delano, MN.
I am a Japanese photographer living in North Minneapolis. I use a medium-format film camera to document the life of organic farmland in the Midwest. My photographs portray farm life from a non-American viewpoint.
Riverbend Farm is the name of the farm the family I married to owns and runs, and it is an 80-acre organic vegetable agricultural facility in Delano, Minnesota, one hour West of Minneapolis. For over the past three decades, at the old land operated as a farm since the mid-19th century, Riverbend Farm has offered its produce to co-ops, restaurants, schools, and nursing homes throughout Delano and the Twin Cities. Greg Raynolds, the owner, has been delivering lectures and helping research programs at the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, as well as Seed Savers Exchange. As a result, Riverbend Farm reached an achievement and received *the 2015 MOSES Organic Farmers of the Year Award.
I started working for them during the pandemic, and since then, I have been astonished at how hard it is to be an organic farmer. I recognize how many hours of physical labor go into those beautiful, healthy produce you see on your table. Moreover, organic farming involves much knowledge, including using biological fertilizers and protecting water, air, and soil from chemical pollution. Organic agriculture is a big part of the solution to climate change: it contributes to mitigating the greenhouse effect and global warming.
Despite its achievements, Riverbend Farm will eventually have to slow down and close its operation. My photographs contribute to the legacy and the achievements the farm has built, and I hope more people in the community realize the farm's ecological and ethical lifestyle in the Midwest.
Lastly, my hometown, Kamakura, is a surf town famous for its beaches and the ocean. After being away from home for over 30 years, my soul and skin miss the smell, wind, touches, and all the memories of the ocean. When I look at the sunset at the farm, it comforts me and simultaneously brings the emotion of longing for home. In other words, standing on the farmland in Delano makes me recall the thing I miss, the ocean, and makes me reflect on who I am.
*The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service Organic Farmer of the Year Award recognizes a Midwest farmer or farm family for their outstanding land management, innovative farming practices, and outreach to teach others about organic farming.
