Farm Hands By Tom Rivers

Pick up your copy of Farm Hands (ISBN 0-9845656-0-4) at one of the establishments below, or order directly from the author: PayPal $17.99 (includes tax and shipping) to iluvalbion (at) yahoo (dot) com. To pay by check or place a bulk order, email us.

Upcoming appearances:
Sept. 5th, 10 a.m., as part of Sunday morning worship Plymouth Congregational UCC, 232 E. Onondaga St., Syracuse, NY 13202, (315) 474-4836, www.plymouthuccsyracuse.org.

Tues., Sept. 16th. Tom Rivers will participate in the 10th Annual Diversity Conference at the College at Brockport, NY. (Specific presentation time TBD)

Sat., Oct. 2nd, 8-11 am. Tom Rivers will serve as Honorary Chair of the Genesee County CROP Walk: Ending hunger one step at a time. Event begins with a Pancake Breakfast at the Salvation Army, 529 E. Main St., Batavia. ($3 adults, $1 children 10 and under). Call (585) 343-0505 for more info.

Fri., Nov. 19th, 8:30-10 am, as part of the opening plenary of the 20th Annual Midwest Stream Farmworker Health Forum, Austin, TX.

Tom Rivers is available for speaking engagements (large and small venues), interviews and other opportunities to share his "Farm Hands" experiences. Contact Tom directly at watertowertom(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Genesee County:

The Daily News, 2 Apollo Drive, Batavia, NY 14020 | (585) 343-8000

Alberty Drugs, 81 Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020 | (585) 344-1570

Greg'ry's Bakery, 13 North Lake Avenue, Bergen, NY 14416 | (585) 494-1263

Holland Land Office Museum, 131 West Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020 | (585) 343-4727

Oakfield Family Pharmacy, 40 Main Street, Oakfield, NY 14125 | (585) 948-5283

Present Tense, 101 Washington Avenue, Batavia, NY 14020 | (585) 815-7640

Lee Shuknecht & Sons, 4458 Ford Road, Elba, NY 14058 | (585) 757-6628

Stein Farms, 8343 Gully Road, LeRoy, NY 14482 | (585) 768-6108

Monroe County:

Lift Bridge Book Shop, 45 Main Street, Brockport, NY 14420 | (585) 637-8354

Niagara County:

Niagara Landing Wine Cellars, 4434 Van Dusen Road, Lockport, NY 14094 | (716) 433-8405

Orleans County:

Barre Deli, 4661 Oak Orchard Road, Albion, NY 14411 | (585) 589-9430

Bertsch's Good Earth Market, 1582 Oak Orchard Road, Albion, NY 14411 | (585) 682-3604

The Book Shoppe, 519 Main Street, Medina, NY 14103 | (585) 798-3642

Brown's Berry Patch, 14264 Roosevelt Highway, Waterport, NY 14571 | (585) 682-5569

Elsewhere Cafe, 118 North Main Street, Albion, NY 14411 | (585) 283-4214

Fischer's Newsroom, 105 North Main Street, Albion, NY 14411 | (585) 589-7283)

LynOaken Farms, 10609 Ridge Road, Medina, NY 14103 | (585) 798-1060

Partyka Farms, 1420 County Line Road (Rt. 272), Kendall, NY 14476-9501 | (585) 659-9131

Swan Library, 4 North Main Street Albion, NY 14411 | (585) 589-4246

Watt Farms Country Market, 3121 Oak Orchard Road, Albion, NY 14411 | (585) 589-8000

Wyoming County:

Burlingham Books, 2 South Main Street, Perry, NY 14530 | (585) 237-3190

More locations to be posted as they are added.

The Latest

Farm Hands is in its third printing.

Farm Hands is now available on Amazon.com.

Farm Hands makes an appearance in the Summer 2010 issue of Edible Buffalo magazine.

Thanks to three area businesses that recently bought Farm Hands in bulk to benefit 4-H youths. Torrey Farms of Elba bought 100 books for Genesee County 4-H’ers, while Intergrow Greenhouses in Albion and Western New York Energy in Medina each purchased 100 for the 4-H program in Orleans. The books were distributed during the county fairs in July 2010.

New York Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) personally purchased and distributed a copy of Farm Hands to all 212 state legislators. Hawley said he hopes Rivers' objective accounts of farm jobs will give lawmakers -- especially those from downstate, typically less familiar with agriculture -- with a better understanding of how farms really operate.

'Farm Hands' Feedback

"This book is well-written, fun, an easy read with many photos, and a great tool to show non-farmers the need for reliable skilled farm workers, their importance to American farmers and American well-being, and the respect agricultural employers have for them." -- National Council of Agricultural Employers

"Maestro, Stretch, King Kong, Ferdinand, Sherlock – these are the names of some of the farm workers Tom Rivers introduces us to in his eye-opening book Farm Hands: Hard Work and Hard Lessons from Western New York Fields.

Part social experiment, part investigative journalism, Rivers provides us a first-hand look at the rigors of farm labor as he himself worked with crews in the fields on numerous farms throughout Orleans and Genesee counties. Many, if not all, of the crews were made up of migrant workers from Mexico, Jamaica, and Haiti. What Rivers shows us is that farm labor is dignified hard work that requires will power, humility, skill, and strength."

-- Edible BUFFALO, Summer 2010 issue

"I just finished Tom Rivers' book Farm Hands and am astounded at the real-life feel this book gives to the world of agriculture. Tom has not only been a friend to agriculture by reporting on local events within our community, but by taking a leap out of his comfort zone working as a farm hand, dairy laborer, onion planter, apple picker and cabbage harvester. I have encouraged my colleagues in both the Assembly and Senate to read this book so they understand the real issues farm laborers and farmers face together." -- Steve Hawley, NYS Assemblyman

"I received your book yesterday in the mail, opened it up and started reading. Fantastic is all I can say. You have given a terrific insight to the agricultural community and those hard-working immigrants and what a day brings to them...the challenges and the rewards. This industry is so difficult, not only for here but all across the country. My husband brings back fresh produce from California and has to interact with the immigrants also. The first time I went with him I couldn't get over the 'primitive' ways they had to harvest the veggies and fruit. You made me feel like I know those that you worked along side. You also took me back to the days when I was a kid and picked strawberries and blackberries. Oh, how I hated to do that and vowed as an adult I would never do that again!
Tom, congratulations on your book. Thank you for sticking out those long days and 'representing.' It truly is a well-written eye opener to the 'hapless American.'" -- Tonya Gens DeLand

Farm Hands By Tom Rivers

Get Your Hands on "Farms Hands"

Blog Archive

Followers