Harvest Public Media

Harvest Public Media is a reporting collaboration focused on issues of food, fuel and ﬁeld. Based at KCUR in Kansas City, Harvest covers these agriculture-related topics through an expanding network of reporters and partner stations throughout the Midwest.Most Harvest Public Media stories begin with radio- regular reports are aired on member stations in the Midwest. But Harvest also explores issues through online analyses, television documentaries and features, podcasts, photography, video, blogs and social networking. They are committed to the highest journalistic standards. Click here to read their ethics standards.Harvest Public Media was launched in 2010 with the support of a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Today, the collaboration is supported by CPB, the partner stations, and contributions from underwriters and individuals.Tri States Public Radio is an associate partner of Harvest Public Media. You can play an important role in helping Harvest Public Media and Tri States Public Radio improve our coverage of food, field and fuel issues by joining the Harvest Network.

Growing Food Up on the Roof

Tri States Public Radio | By Abbie Fentress Swanson

Published June 13, 2013 at 10:33 AM CDT

The farm roots for Monica Johnson, 36, are in Moundville, Mo., a 124-person town near the Missouri-Kansas border. Although she grew up in Missouri’s capitol, Jefferson City, her father Sherril was raised on the family farm, which consisted of a small herd of cattle, 600 acres of soybeans, wheat and corn and 200 acres of timber.

The farm is no longer in the family; it was sold in the 1990s because it was no longer profitable.

Johnson now maintains Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in New York City. She’s also sold produce at the farmers market for upstate New York farms, written articles on raw milk and genetically-engineered salmon for the online journal Food Politic, and even got a degree that focused on Food Studies at The New School.

Johnson shares her story in the second installment of this year’s My Farm Roots series from Harvest Public Media.

Here is a link to her story on the Harvest Public Media website, which also includes links to other stories from the series.