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In 2020 we asked Nebraskans to send us their original poetry about local food. The response received was incredible.The poems make us laugh, cry and take notice of the small beauties we can find every day in the garden, the farm, the market and our kitchens.

Big thanks to all who submitted. Find all the poems in the bar to the right.

Featured Poem

Getting the Dirt on Farmers

Tobi Scofield (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Never been a farmer

City girl, I guess

So when I stand under the awning

At our CSA drop-off

I get the dirt on local farmers


I hear it in the chit-chat concerning

hungry grasshoppers and threatening weather

In the heat of the day, it appears in beads of sweat

settling on each farmer’s furrowed brow

emitting an earthy scent into the faint breeze

It shows up in the fresh veggies, germinated

in acres of managed organic soil

and placed carefully in my bag


At home, I see it tucked

between the leaves of lettuce, like a hidden note


Black, inky dirt

uncovered and discovered

A sneaky disclosure of dirty truth

A mighty reminder to appreciate

the dirt on farmers


*All poems are the property of the author. Please do not reproduce, print or distribute without their permission.