A New Magazine For Modern Farmer Types

This new international magazine with a Vancouver connection is for anyone interested in where their food comes from.

NEW NOW NEXT | While magazine publishers everywhere are getting out of print, Vancouver billionaire philanthropist Frank Guistra is jumping in. Last month, Modern Farmer, a new quarterly magazine on farming, which comes in both print and digital versions, launched in the U.S. with Guistra’s name listed prominently on the masthead as equity partner. Guistra is betting on the public growing ever more inquisitive about where their food comes from, how it’s produced, and how they can participate in the modern farmer movement. And he is counting on the talent and international connections of editor-in-chief Ann Marie Gardner, who made a name for herself as a writer and producer at Monocle and New York Times T: Travel, two stylish magazines known for nailing the zeitgeist.

Last week, the Huffington Post called Modern Farmer the Vogue of farming magazines, presumably because of its sophisticated look plus gorgeous images and illos. But to me, Modern Farmer’s particular use of medium- and snippet-length stories and slick photo essays makes it feel more like a combination of National Geographic and Wallpaper—and, with its laser focus on farming worldwide rather than just hipster farming in North America, it reads more like these influential keep-around magazines, too.

I’m certainly no hands-on farmer, but I loved Modern Farmer’s inaugural issue, particularly the stories on China’s nascent organic-farming industry, Brazil’s bid to become a global breadbasket and what the humane slaughter of animals looks like.  I also enjoyed getting the scoop on compostable poop, learning why frozen vegetables are getting tastier and what the new breed of modern farmers looks like in a photo essay that included Vancouver’s own 17-year old Sophia Vartanian, pictured at the top of our story. —Carolann Rule

In Metro Vancouver, find Modern Farmer at Indigo Books; CLICK HERE to locate the store nearest you. Or visit Modern Farmer online at modernfarmer.com.