Proud of My Roots

Most of you know that I am from the littlest state in the US, Rhode Island (RI). But, many people aren't aware that there is actual farming in RI. Well, there certainly is.

Every year of my life, my family would visit the apple orchards - and nearly every single one of them because I would NOT go home until I found the absolutely, most perfect round and orange pumpkin. I also would not let my family rest, or get warm and dry, in my search for the perfect Christmas tree, which we would chose and cut every year. We had a knack for picking the coldest and snowiest days to search for the perfect tree.

With the economic crisis causing dramatic job losses in RI, the bright spot in the state is agriculture. In a recent article published in the Providence Journal, "Rhode Island-Grown Produce Stimulates Market - And Taste Buds - For More", the strength of the industry and the importance of locally grown was emphasized.

"After a century of constant and dramatic decline, the number of farms in Rhode Island has grown in the last several years with nearly 300 new, small farms. (National trends are up to, but only by 4 percent; Rhode Island is up 42 percent.)"

That is amazing because RI is small! RI is a mere 1,545 square miles (smaller than Henderson (375 sq mi), Haywood (555 sq mi) and Buncombe County (660 sq mi) combined).

RI also has an excellent website that helps consumers locate farms and farm products, FarmFresh.org.

Not bad for the smallest state in the US, huh?