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"Family farming has changed in the sense that we dont do things the way that are grandfathers did it, but you still have to have the family to work the farm, and we do," says Mary Jane Kerns, one of four generations who work the Kerns farm in Monongalia County, West Virginia. Farmer follows the Kerns during a year on their farm, as they vaccinate calves, plant and harvest their crops, and sell them at their family produce stand. The documentary also interviews older farmers, who describe how their families made their farms work in the days before machinery. Filmmaker Chip Hitchcock created Farmer to explore the powerful connections West Virginians have with their families. Farmer was first broadcast as part of the Mountaineer series in 1995.