We chat with Evan Montgomery, a third-generation grain farmer on the North Dakota side of the Red River Valley. Evan is also a trained musician--he has a degree in music, he sings classical music--and we talk all about his life growing up on the farm, getting into music, and finding a way to strike a balance and pursue both of those passions at once. We also talk about this year’s “harvest from hell” and about the serious challenges facing family farmers today—from changing climate, to giant agribusiness conglomerates, to the dire struggle to find and train the next generation of farmers. And we talk about why Evan does what he does and why he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

 

Additional links/info below...

• Evan's Twitter and Instagram pages 
• Jones Boat Facebook page (the Fargo-based choir Evan sings in) 
• Stetson Payne, Tulsa World, "State of Farming": Number of Family Farms Decreasing, While Average Farmer Is Aging" 
• Andrea Stone, National Geographic, "Family Farmers Hold Keys to Agriculture in a Warming World" 
• Elizabeth Kucinich, Huffington Post, "Monsanto: The Enemy of Family Farmers" 

 

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Lobo Loco, "Malte Junior - Hall"
• NDSU Concert Choir, "There Is Sweet Music" 
• NDSU Concert Choir, "Avinu Malkeinu"