Dirty Work: The Story of Elsie's Farm

“We're making food, and we're passionate about it,” declares farmer Joni Cash at the outset of Dirty Work, which chronicles a year on a small farm—less than 10 acres—in Wisconsin where she and her partner, Don Roberts, grow organic produce. Deb Wallwork's documentary proceeds by seasons. In the spring, the farmers plant—and weed—by hand, often helped by cheerful and enthusiastic members of their Community Supported Agriculture program. Summer brings plentiful garlic to harvest, with other good-looking produce and flowers, as well as financial woes, as it becomes increasingly evident that, after five years, Cash and Roberts cannot continue to make a go of it. Fall's footage includes sad goodbyes at the local farmers' market as the pair bring in their last harvest. A year later, winter finds them in another home on an acre of land with a hoop house, growing specialty produce for neighborhood restaurants. Lushly filmed, Dirty Work celebrates living on and loving the land, offering an honest (if also heartbreaking) look at the difficulties of trying to be close to your food. Recommended. Aud: P. (F. Gardner)