LITTLE COMPTON - Leaves rustle in the wind as Rick Peckham secures the floral welcome flag onto the faded yellow post outside Peckham’s Greenhouse, gray cap atop his head. The flag offers just the smallest glimpse as to what customers can find once inside on this summer day: Floral arrangements and terrariums, houseplants and perennials. The greenhouse has been operating for over 150 years now, and Peckham has no plans to leave quite yet.

“I expect to work out here until I can’t work out here anymore,” he said. “I enjoy it that much.

Peckham is one of more than 20 farmers featured in the new documentary "Rooted in Tradition: 21st Century Farming in Little Compton," which debuted on YouTube late last month. Made in collaboration with the Little Compton Historical Society (LCHS) and Lily and Cameron Clark of Clarkshire Media, the film examines what it’s like for local farmers working in agriculture today.

LCHS executive director Marjory O’Toole said the documentary was inspired by the society's new permanent exhibit, “Everyone Was a Farmer,” which features the short film History of Farming as part of its exhibition. While the installation highlights the importance of agriculture in the past, O’Toole said farming continues to be a vital part of life in Little Compton to this day.

“We want people to walk away understanding that farming is not something just of the past, it is an important part of our community today,” she said.

So, beginning in April, the LCHS and the Clarks embarked on the new film project, largely supported by the Ocean State Charities Trust and Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. O’Toole was surprised to see just how many farms were still in operation, including everything from vegetable farms and orchards to dairy farms and vineyards. The film doesn’t even cover all of them; some farmers were simply too busy over the summer to make time to participate in the documentary.

“It certainly isn’t meant to represent every single active farm in Little Compton, but I think it’s a nice survey of what’s out there,” she said.

Out of the farmers who were able to participate, O’Toole said she was struck by the sheer “earnestness” they expressed concerning their profession.

"This is very serious to them, they put their whole heart and soul into it,” she said.

Since the film’s premier, the documentary in its 30-minute format will continue to be available on YouTube, as will be an hour-long question-and-answer session with the LCHS, the farmers and Clarkshire Media. A shortened version will soon be available on-demand at the “Everyone Was a Farmer” exhibition.

An ideal place to farm

From its short distance away from Providence and Boston, to its generous growing season and close proximity to the ocean, Little Compton, farmers said in the film, served as the perfect place for them to live and work.

“We’ve got a climate that has such a long growing season, much longer than other places where farming is on the rise,” said Carter Wilkie of heritage breed pigs.

“With the ocean around us, we’ll pick broccoli until December, or Christmastime quite often,” added Skip Paul of Wishing Stone Farm.

Sarah Cogswell of Cluck and Trowel Farm said she is fortunate to have found a house with land in Little Compton after searching all along the south shore.

“I just think it’s a fantastic area, not just to raise a family, but to start an agricultural business,” she said.

Once they decided to start Sweet and Salty Farm, Laura Haverland and Andrew Morley recognized that any vacations would likely be few and far between; yet living so close to the ocean, they hardly minded.

“This is like farming in paradise, basically,” said Haverland. “I mean, we’re in the most beautiful place in the world.”

In the family

For many of today’s farmers, the trade has long been in the family. At Hope Alpaca Farm, Bill Ryan’s son is fifth-generation; Elinor Gavin acquired the land housing Boughs & Berry from her father. Coll Walker’s parents bought their farm back in 1963, starting Walker’s Roadside Stand the following year.

“It was supposed to help put me through college,” said Walker.

Over at Indian Rock Farm, Bob Carr hopes that his children will someday take over and keep the farm going in the family. Tom and Josie Arkins, however, are content with Treaty Rock Farm potentially going on without their kids.

“The goal is that it can go on without them,” Tom said.

Adapt and change vs. staying the same

There’s a lot that goes into today’s 21st century farming process, many of the farmers noted. 

“There’s so many different skillsets and there’s so many different disciplines that you need to juggle at once,” said Andrew Yorks of Bee Baa Farm (formerly Common Home Farm). “You kind of have to keep pushing yourself to learn something new and innovate in that way to stay motivated and keep trying.”

At Wishing Stone Farm, Silas Peckham-Paul has embraced new, advanced ways of operating.

“I’m a big fan of a machine that can do what my back has been doing this whole time,” said Silas.

More sustainable farming is important to Josie as well.

“I’m really into biodiversity, that’s my whole thing,” she said. “If I can create the most biodiverse farming situation, that would be our goal in terms of sustainability moving forward.”

But not everyone has turned to technology as readily, including Lorraine Frank of Sakonnet Vineyards.

“We still do it by hand,” she said.

‘Labor of love’

Farming is a difficult industry, one that few become “rich” on, O’Toole said.

There were “challenges from all different perspectives,” said Rusty Cabot of White Rock Farm, from the cost of getting and maintaining equipment and finding people who can do repairs. Farmers have a “reputation” for always working, added Silas – because they have to, in order to make sure that their crops prosper.

“If you miss a date, you don’t get those Brussel sprouts,” Silas said.

Labor used to be easy to come by, said Frank, but that has not been the case recently.

“I even have the winemaker out there working with us this year,” she said.

Meanwhile, Craig Hibbad of Otter Brook Farm has to run a second business, a construction company, just to make ends meet.

“The animals just don’t cut it,” he said. “It’s a labor of love, is what it is.”

The future of farming

Going forward, Wilkie expects that less people will acquire land from their families; land is just too expensive, and young farmers are going to keep going out and searching for a like-minded community. Little Compton needs to go the next step, he said, to support farmers in order to keep the industry going.

“If the working landscape disappears, all that we’ve worked for disappears with it,” he said.

Some ideas he has are bringing transition planning to Little Compton, and making housing affordable and available to young farmers looking to get a start in town, like live-and-work barn spaces or apartments that were leased by the town.

“How can this town look at zoning in a creative way and create a new type of housing for young and new farmers?” said Wilkie.

As a member of the Agricultural Conservancy Trust, Rusty Cabot said there wasn’t any “formally organized” way to recruit new farmers to town at the present time – but it’s been something that has been discussed in the past, and will remain part of the conversation so “…that we have farmers in Little Compton 50 years from now and that farming is still part of our community,” he said.

To watch the documentary in its entirety, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiDwuwfxHKw.