Farmers around the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays are leaders in environmental stewardship and practices that protect and promote healthy soils. These practices also safeguard working lands against extremes posed by climate change. This film follows three different family-owned farming operations on the Delmarva Peninsula who all care about and depend on soil.
GENRE | Environmental Documentary
LENGTH | 1 hour 29 minutes
AUDIENCE | Farmers, Extension, Agricultural service providers
FILMMAKER | Karrah Kwasnik
FEATURED FARMS | Deerfield Farm, Fair Hill Farms, Harborview Farms
KEY PRACTICES | planting green, cover cropping, no-till, rotational grazing, sub-surface drip irrigation
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Deerfield Farm
The Hill family grows grains and vegetables, and manages a 105,000-capacity poultry operation in Lewes, Delaware. The family champions no-till farming, utilizes cover crops, and runs subsurface drip irrigation lines across some of its fields.
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Fair Hill Farms
Owned and operated by the Fry family, Fair Hill Farms is a 600 cow organic dairy operation in Chestertown, Maryland. The family farms about 1,400 acres, uses cover crops, and employs rotational grazing across its 260 acres of pasturelands.
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Harborview Farms
Harborview Farms grows corn, wheat and soybeans on a little over 10,000 acres in Rock Hall, Maryland, and is active in sequestering carbon into its soils through no-till farming, cover crops, and environmental stewardship.
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Planting Green
What exactly is planting green? Harborview Farms shares how this practice - of planting a commodity crop directly into a living, diverse mix of cover crops - has improved farm soils and biodiversity.
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Rotational Grazing
Fair Hill Farms uses rotational grazing to manage both their cows and pastures. Learn why this practice is beneficial to both the farm's soil health and its ability to withstand extreme weather events.
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SDI
Deerfield Farm uses subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) across fields where traditional overhead irrigation systems just don't fit. This low pressure, high efficiency system delivers water and nutrients to crop root zones, and saves energy and water.
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Film Panel Q&A
Join the USDA Climate Hubs and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, in this previously recorded sit down with the filmmaker, USDA soil experts, and farmers featured in Delmarva and the Ground for Change.
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Filmmaker Interview
USDA Northeast Climate Hub's Karrah Kwasnik shot, edited, and produced Delmarva and the Ground for Change. Here's why she digs into soil health from the farmer perspective.
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Event Toolkit
Help us ignite greater confidence in the ability of more farmers to cultivate resilient soils. Become a film screening partner today!
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Film Trailer #1
This film follows three different family-owned farming operations on the Delmarva Peninsula who all care about and depend on soil.
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Film Trailer #2
This film follows three different family-owned farming operations on the Delmarva Peninsula who all care about and depend on soil.
Film Events
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UMD Extension and Talbot County Film Screening: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
To celebrate National Ag Day, attend the FREE film screening hosted by UMD Extension and Talbot County, in conjunction with University of Delaware at the Avalon Theatre in Easton, MD.
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Delaware Center for the Inland Bays and Sussex Conservation District Film Screening: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
Please join for a FREE film screening hosted by the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays and Sussex Conservation District, in conjunction with University of Delaware at the Georgetown Public Library in Georgetown, DE.
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Nanticoke Watershed Alliance and ShoreRivers Film Screening: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
Please join us for a FREE film screening hosted by Nanticoke Watershed Alliance and ShoreRivers, in conjunction with University of Delaware at Layton's Chance Vineyard & Winery in Vienna, MD.
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UMES Extension Film Screening: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
In conjunction with its Small Farm Conference at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, UMES Extension is hosting a FREE film screening of the environmental documentary on campus in the SSC Ballroom.
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Chesapeake Film Festival: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
Delmarva and the Ground for Change will be part of the Chesapeake Film Festival's 2023 virtual line-up.
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Blessing of the Combines Film Screening: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
FREE film screening of Delmarva and the Ground for Change at Blessing of the Combines, a celebration of local agriculture and day to honor farm families in Snow Hill, MD.
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UMaine Film Screening with Panel Discussion: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
FREE film screening of Delmarva and the Ground for Change at Norman Smith Hall in the Mitchell Center at the University of Maine! The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the film director and climate/farming experts.
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Monadnock 2023 Earth Day Festival: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
Delmarva and the Ground for Change to be feature film at the Monadnock Earth Day Festival. This in-person screening event will be followed by a panel discussion focused on how farmers and business owners employ sustainable practices to mitigate climate change and how advocates work to support them.
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Monadnock 2023 Earth Day Festival: Delmarva and the Ground for Change (VIRTUAL)
Stream Delmarva and the Ground for Change in Monadnock Earth Day Film Festival's virtual lineup. This FREE virtual film festival runs Wednesday, April 19 through Saturday, April 22nd and is organized by The Monadnock International Film Festival (MONIFF), Monadnock Farm & Community Coalition, and Monadnock Food Co-op.
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Delaware Ag Week: Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Delmarva and the Ground for Change to screen at Delaware Agriculture Week in Harrington, Delaware. This special event is made possible through the support of Delaware Department of Agriculture, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension and Delaware State University Cooperative Extension. A panel discussion will follow the film screening.
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NHFF: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
The New Hampshire Film Festival (NHFF) will screen Delmarva and the Ground for Change on Thursday, October 6th at 3:45pm at The Rep Theatre in Portsmouth, NH. Filmmaker, Karrah Kwasnik, will be in attendance to answer audience questions.
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MONIFF: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
Experience the magic of in-person cinema with a special screening of Delmarva and the Ground for Change at the Monadnock International Film Festival in Keene, NH.
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Delaware Soil Health Partnership Film Screening: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
The Delaware Soil Health Partnership invites agriculturalists and those interested in learning more about conservation on Delmarva to a free film screening of Delmarva and the Ground for Change at the Clayton Theatre in Dagsboro, Delaware.
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University of Delaware Film Screening: Delmarva and the Ground for Change
In partnership with University of Delaware's College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, an in-person film screening of Delmarva and the Ground for Change will take place in Newark, Delaware at Main Street Movies 5 on May 12th from 6-8pm. It will be followed by a panel discussion.
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USDA Climate Hubs Live Virtual Panel Q&A
Join the USDA Climate Hubs and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, to sit down with the filmmaker, USDA soil experts, and farmers featured in Delmarva and the Ground for Change. Together we will explore the importance of soil health practices under climate change, and answer audience questions in this one-hour, live panel event.
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USDA Climate Hubs Film Premiere
Register to receive on-demand early access to Delmarva and the Ground for Change, a documentary film about three different family-owned farming operations on the Delmarva Peninsula who all care about and depend on soil.
Film Press
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Film Screening Focuses on Delmarva Farmers Leading the Way in Environmentally Friendly Agricultural Practices
Filmmaker Karrah Kwasnik highlights Deerfield (Lewes, Del.), Fair Hill (Chestertown, Md.) and Harborview (Rock Hall, Md.) farms as models for environmental stewardship.
Delmarva and the Ground for Change Selected at CFF
Delmarva and the Ground for Change, a documentary on soil health and climate change from the farmer perspective, was selected to play at the 16th annual Chesapeake Film Festival.
Soil and Water Conservation Society's Conservogram Highlights Film
Film director, Karrah Kwasnik, recently spoke with the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) about takeaways from the film and the important link to scaling up conservation efforts across farms nationally.
Call for Delmarva and the Ground for Change Film Screening Partners
After much success in 2022, the USDA Northeast Climate Hub in collaboration with University of Delaware Cooperative Extension seek partners for in-person film screenings of Delmarva and the Ground for Change. Help us ignite greater confidence in the ability of more farmers to cultivate resilient soils.
Delmarva and the Ground for Change Selected at NHFF
The USDA Northeast Climate Hub’s documentary film, Delmarva and the Ground for Change, was selected to play at the 20th annual New Hampshire Film Festival (NHFF). As a leading film festival in New England, the New Hampshire Film Festival offers four days packed with 100+ independent films alongside engaging film panels, workshops, and events in Portsmouth, NH.
Delmarva and the Ground for Change Selected at MONIFF
The USDA Northeast Climate Hub’s documentary film, Delmarva and the Ground for Change, was recently selected to play at the 10th annual Monadnock International Film Festival (MONIFF). MONIFF will kick-off on September 23rd, 2022 with three days of in-person screenings and events in downtown Keene, NH, followed by ten days of virtual screenings online.
New Documentary Film Spotlights Soil Health and Climate Change from Farmers’ Perspective
But Delmarva and the Ground for Change does not frame soil health practices as a silver bullet. Instead, the film elevates farmer knowledge and perspectives to show the complexities of modern-day farming systems. The documentary also reminds us that all farms have an important role to play in creating more resilient food systems in the face of current and expected climate change.
Soil Health Film Screening - Delmarva and the Ground for Change
On May 12, the University of Delaware and the USDA Northeast Climate Hub hosted a screening for a new film featuring three farms on Delmarva. The screening was followed by a Q&A with Filmmaker Karrah Kwasnik, Delaware State University Horticulture Specialist Dr. Rose Ogutu, and NRCS State Conservationist Kasey Taylor.
Film to Feature Region’s Agriculture
Several Delmarva growers and their environmentally conscious farming practices could make their big-screen debut next year, thanks to the USDA.