$40.00 U.S. (trade discount)
No e-book has been authorized.
Hardcover
168 pages with 92 color photographs by the author and 1 color map = 93 illustrations
11.25” x 9.75” (landscape/horizontal)
ISBN: 978-1-960521-10-1
Forthcoming in May 2026
Distributed by Casemate/IPM
www.casemateipm.com
Published in association with the
Center for the Study of Place.
ABOUT AUTHOR
PRAISE
SLIDESHOW
MY PLACE
Book Information Sheet (pdf)
by Craig J. Barber
with a foreword by John Seibert Farnsworth
An intimate, informative, and emotionally moving journey about how and where our food comes from.
We all eat. By the time food gets to our plates it has been on a long journey. Open this book to the start of that journey and learn where so much of our food comes from.
Some of the best soil in the world lies north of Seattle in the fertile Skagit River Valley of Washington State. More than 90 crops are grown by farmers who love the land—many of them third and fourth generation who immigrated from Europe, Japan, and Mexico. Farming is labor intensive and repetitive throughout the seasons, and multiple daily tasks are required for the crops and livestock to thrive. Wanting to show the unique aspects of farming and who is involved in tending to and harvesting the foods we eat, Craig J. Barber spent years visiting and photographing the land and life on the Skagit Valley’s farms, many of them organic. He interviewed farmers whose heartfelt stories are featured in these pages and spent considerable time with both field workers and owners, gaining their trust. As a result, Barber captures the physical demands, preparation, and artistry that are part of farming—field workers tossing cabbages like baseballs to other crew members in the back of a truck, a crew walking bent over behind a planter-tractor to make sure the seedlings are set correctly, the attention and tenderness of those caring for livestock, the beauty of a kale field in snow, and the drama of harvesting leeks on a winter night under a spotlight.
Where Our Food Comes From is a book with many facets. Look at and savor the rich photographs. Read the farmers’ stories. Study the facts and figures to expand your knowledge about farmland, food, and farmers. The “magical” Skagit Valley is unique in producing so much of the nation’s and world’s food (and flowers), but it is also a microcosm of the universal and worthy occupation of raising food. In Craig Barber’s unforgettable book, we see how hard work, careful planning, and a love of the land combine to feed the world.
About
About the Author
Craig J. Barber is a Northwest-based photographer who, for more than 30 years, has focused on interpreting cultural landscapes in rapid transition, some fading from memory, as well as documenting farmers and their work—growing our food. He has been awarded grants and residencies from the Seattle Arts Commission, Polaroid Corporation, New York Foundation for the Arts, MacDowell Fellowship, Light Work, Glacier National Park, and the Constance Saltonstall Foundation, and his work is represented in more than 50 public and private collections, including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, Center for Photography at Woodstock (NY), Chrysler Museum of Art, George Eastman Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Museum of Art, Houston, and Victoria & Albert Museum, among others. Barber’s photographs have also been exhibited in both group exhibitions and more than 80 solo exhibitions in Europe, South America, and North America. His previous book is Ghosts in the Landscape: Viet Nam Revisited (Umbrage Editions, 2006).
About the Contributor
John Seibert Farnsworth joined the faculty of Santa Clara University (SCU) in 2005, where his teaching and research focused on environmental writing and literature. He retired as Senior Lecturer in Environmental Studies and Sciences, Emeritus, in 2018. His books include Reading Nature: The Evolution of American Nature Writing (Michigan State University Press, 2025), Nature beyond Solitude: Notes from the Field (Cornell University Press, 2020), and Coves of Departure: Field Notes from the Sea of Cortes (Cornell University Press, 2018). Dr. Farnsworth lives in Skagit County, Washington.
Praise
“The agricultural law of the harvest binds farmers to the land. Through Craig Barber’s lens we get an intimate look at the interdependence of farmers and farm workers, of beauty and bounty, that are borne of the fertile Skagit Valley. Where Our Food Comes From is more than a lovely book; in equally memorable photographs and stories, it allows us to see and hear what it takes to bring food and flowers to our table: hard work, much planning, decent weather, and a kind of earthly art.”
—Thomas C. Hunt, Professor Emeritus of Reclamation, Environment, and Conservation at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and co-owner of Prairie Trace Farm
“Where Our Food Comes From is an eye-opening experience as Craig J. Barber combines his photos with interviews to give the reader a glimpse as to what day to day looks like on a farm in America. We see the implementation of technology, the impacts of climate change, and the human connection that brings the food we eat from seed to table. I grew up away from agriculture, but I commute through these fields every day and frequently admire the ever-changing crops and the dedication the workers have to the crops and livestock they tend. Barber’s book illuminates the human touch behind the food we eat in a way I have neither seen nor considered. I think many people today are seeing the automation of so many industries and are themselves moving so fast that they don’t think about the source of their food. Thankfully, Where Our Food Comes From reminds us of the delicate and vital role that farmers and farm workers provide in feeding people all over the U.S. and world. Barber’s book is a triumph in conveying that message through words and images.”
—Laynie Moran, Collection Manager, Skagit County Historical Museum
“Craig Barber’s photographs of farming go beyond conveying the beauty and lushness of fertile fields: They ennoble the unending effort and deep caring required to bring food to our tables. We begin to understand the farmers’ workdays through Barber’s majestic landscapes, revealing portraits, and moving studies of labor. His images are, in turn, monumental and intimate, elegant and moving. Barber’s prodigious artistry allows us to appreciate the food that we take for granted.”
—Barbara Tannenbaum, Curator of Photography, Cleveland Museum of Art
“More than any book I have ever seen, Craig Barber’s remarkable book on the Skagit Valley celebrates how people, plants, and animals combine to produce an agricultural setting and a way of life oriented around the production of the foods we consume every day. In the spirit of Wendell Berry, this collection of photographs is a visual feast and should be required reading for anyone hungry to know more about where our food comes from and how these places shape the lives of the farmers and farm workers who make such landscapes possible.”
—William Wyckoff, Professor Emeritus of Geography and Earth Sciences at Montana State University and author of How to Read the American West: A Field Guide
Slideshow
My Places
I had the good fortune of growing up at the edge of a small town in western New York, surrounded by farms and woods. Straight out our back door were cornfields and cows, while just down the road a truck farm raised all sorts of vegetables. As a kid I spent a few summers helping with the milking, cleaning calf pens, haying, and cultivating corn. Open fields and woods nearby offered space for me to play, wander, and experience solitude. I am so lucky to have had such a delightful place to come of age.
After graduating high school, I went from that bucolic setting to the U.S. Marine Corps for four years. Leaving the wilds of Viet Nam, I found refreshing contrast as a ski bum for a few years in Vermont and then in Colorado. At some point I picked up a hammer and supported myself as a carpenter. Always interested in seeing new places, I took my tools to Saskatchewan, Canada, for two years. I took a photography workshop there and have been lugging some sort of camera around with me ever since.
I wanted to learn more and discovered that the Everett Community College in Washington offered a reputable photography program. That was the turning point for me. Three teachers there opened up the world of photography to me, challenging and encouraging me to explore the world with my camera. I received my A.A. in photography at Everett and eventually my B.A. in photographic history from Empire State University in New York. I am especially drawn to documenting cultural landscapes, whether in Viet Nam, Havana, Tuscany, or the U.S. Southwest where I’ve traveled. I have used both contemporary and antiquarian processes.
Retiring my hammer in 2015 gave me more time to take photographs. While living in upstate New York, I had taken tintypes of craftspeople: blacksmiths, woodworkers, beekeepers, and farmers, all who were passionate about keeping the knowledge of their craft alive. Remembering my childhood and the joy of working on the farm dovetailed with my endeavor to document their passion and to honor their pursuits. This carried with me to Washington State and the Skagit Valley. Tintype photography is slow, cumbersome work, and I realized I needed a faster, more spontaneous approach to photographing farmers, as they are constantly on the move; it was time for me to go digital. And in color! After nearly 40 years, I have cycled back to farms and farm animals and the people who care for both. Being there and with them is as interesting to me as when I was a lad but now with a more mature perspective. I see the love that farmers hold for their land and animals through the seasons and years. It takes endless attention to an everchanging world, but they trust the soil will support them. And they have trusted me to document their work lives. I am forever grateful.
Copyright © Craig J. Barber. All rights reserved.