The Biggest Little Farm Parent Guide

John and Molly Chester have a dream – “to build a life of purpose together.” And, thanks to a promise made to Todd, their rescue dog, and Molly’s desire to grow every kind of food she likes to cook, the idealistic young couple round up some investors and purchase 200 acres of farmland an hour north of Los Angeles.

The hopeful Chesters (and Todd) move into the newly christened Apricot Lane Farms in 2011, only to come face to face with harsh reality. The land is an ecological disaster: the soil is dry, compacted, and virtually dead; the irrigation pond has dried out; the beehives are filled with dead bees; and it seems unlikely that anything can grow there, let alone the vibrant, natural farm the duo envision. So, Molly calls in Alan York, a traditional farming guru, who becomes the couple’s mentor. “The objective,” Alan says, “is to emulate how natural ecosystems work. They regulate themselves through diversity.” With this goal in mind, the Chesters embrace diversity. They wind up raising 200 different crops and animals on their farm, including ducks, sheep, cows, a memorable pig named Emma, and Greasy, her rooster friend. They also plant cover crops and 75 different varieties of stoned fruit trees. The young farmers throw themselves into upgrading the nutrient starved soil, building a vermiculture operation to turn worm poop into compost and collecting the manure of their other animals. “Their poop is our gold,” says John. (I can’t tell you how glad I was that I could see the farm but not smell it.) The Chesters’ investment and hard work begin to pay off, but then the problems come: marauding coyotes, voracious snails, drought, wind, pesky gophers, fruit-eating birds…and finally, fire.

Parents looking for movies with positive messages will find them in abundance in this production. Its dominant theme is that of respecting the earth, learning to work with its rhythms, and not fighting against them to impose a manmade profit model of agriculture. But it has other messages, including those of tenacity, backbreaking hard work, and perseverance in the face of seemingly impossible challenges. As John says, quoting Alan: “It’s a simple way of farming. It’s just not easy.” John and Molly repeatedly come face to face with difficulties – as they say in exasperation, “Every step we take to improve our land crates the perfect habitat for the next pest.” But as they avoid jumping to obvious solutions, step back, analyze the problem, and research nature’s solutions, they nurture a richer biodiversity and a more productive farm. And, best of all, these positive messages come with virtually no content issues: there are two profanities and some scenes about the death of animals, which might upset sensitive little ones. That being said, this really isn’t a movie for little kids, although older elementary school age children will probably enjoy it, especially if they love animals.

The Biggest Little Farm is a beautiful movie, filled with breath-taking images of the farm coming back to life. There are moments of such beauty I gasped and others that brought me to tears. This is a film of hope, love, joy, and rebirth. It is a secular hymn to the earth – a visual poem, a cinematic psalm. And it’s a reminder to treasure the miraculous planet on which we live, and to seek out how we can heal, instead of harm, our only home.