C&M’s Proposal

Charley surprises Michelle with a proposal on the Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Capstone Project: Hmong Farming in Southwest Missouri combines traditional and conventional practices

While most children of Hmong farmers are encouraged to leave the homestead and pursue an college education, some feel the connection to agriculture and return to farming. Many of the Hmong farmers in Southwest Missouri were hill farmers in Laos, so they brought their knowledge of agriculture to the United States where they grown produce and raise chickens, cattle and hogs. They then sell their produce at local farmer markets throughout the area multiple times a week.

Neng Yang, left, and his wife, Zoua, clean garlic bulbs after being picked from their field in Southwest Missouri on Thursday, April 27, 2017. The Yang’s started farming in Laos, and continued farming after migrating to the United States in the 70s.

Teng Yang picks strawberries from his strawberry patch on his farm in Southwest Missouri. Yang and his wife own 100 acres where they grow broccoli, onions, lettuce, and beets and raise cattle, hogs and chickens.

Teng Yang checks on his broccoli plants on his farm in Southwest Missouri. Teng and his family originally moved to France after moving out of Laos. They have been living in the United States for ten years and have been farming for seven.

Chickens in the Vang’s chicken barn in Southwest Missouri roam around. Altogether the Vang’s family farms consists of chickens, where they produce vegetables in their garden and raise chickens that lay eggs, which will be sent away to be hatched to be raised as broiler chickens.

Abby Vang cleans and packages eggs that will be sent to another farm to be hatched and grown as broiler chickens. While the family works together on the farm, the chicken barn falls under the supervision and ownership of Abby’s brother,Sheng Na Vang.

Chong Xue Vang, Abby’s father, packages eggs in his family’s chicken barn.

Fue Yang checks on his tomato plants in his high tunnel in Southwest Missouri. Yang farms with his parents where they most of their work by hand and use traditional Laotian practices when growing food. Yang, a second generation Hmong farmer, started farming with his in 2004. “I farm more as a way to find out about his parents lives back in Laos,” Yang said.

The sun shines on Yang’s high tunnels. High tunnels are used to control environment and are used to grow starter plants in the winter, so that they can be later transplanted in the spring. Fue considers the greenhouses his, while his parents grow produce outside in a field, similar to how they grew food on the hills of Laos.

Zoua Yang, left, and her brother, Teng, clean cilantro in preparation of selling their produce at a farmer’s market in Springfield, Missouri.

Zoua Yang sorts through and cleans vegetables that will be sold at a farmers market.

Teng Yang organizes a crate of produce in the walk-in cooler. After produce has been picked, cleaned and packaged, the Yangs store their vegetables in a cool room to keep them fresh until they sell the produce at a farmer’s market.

Beets lay on display at Neng, Zoua and Fue Yang’s table at the in Springfield, Missouri on Saturday, May 30, 2017. The family sells their produce Farmer’s Market of the Ozarks on Saturday as well other markets during the week.

Zoua Yang accepts money from a customer at the Farmer’s Market of the Ozarks. Zoua Yang said their most popular items in the early spring are lettuce and radishes.

After several road blocks, I managed to pull through with, in my opinion, a decent project. Even after deciding to pursue Hmong farmers, I ran into several road blocks, one being a language barrier. I had never had this problem when trying to interview subjects, so it was a bit frustrating to get past, especially knowing that my translator had cancelled on me 10 minutes before the interview. I didn’t have much time with the actual farmers, which was a bit frustrating.

Overall, I think that this could have been more in-depth, but considering the time restraints and the lack of access, it turned out okay. In future, I would like to add on to this project. I think that this has a lot more potential to tell these people’s stories more in depth. I barely scratched the surface and feel like they need to be told.