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Mo. man defends rural life in major magazines

Published: Sunday, August 30, 2009 11:13 AM CDT

TARKIO, Mo. (AP) -- A northwest Missouri man is using his pen to stand up for the heartland.

Blake Hurst and his wife, Julie, have run a plant nursery in Tarkio for the past 26 years. But the Atchison County native, most of whose family still lives in the area, is also a frequent writer about Middle America and rural life.

Hurst, 53, recently had a piece published in The American magazine that focused on misinformation spread by critics of industrial farming.

Hurst said he felt it funny that some people diminish his ideas because of his rural roots.

"That kind of populism is cheap, and I don't want to use it," Hurst said. "People assume a lot when they find out that you're a farmer or that you're from a small town."

In 2002, he wrote a response to Atlantic Monthly contributor David Brooks' writings on Red America/Blue America. The colors refer to states that usually vote Republican in presidential elections vs. those that vote Democratic.

"Is it really so dumb to choose to live in a place where life is affordable, the roads aren't crowded, and you don't have to put up with obnoxious megalomaniacs and self-important snobs?" Hurst wrote. "Red America is full of smart people. ... It's just that intellect, like wealth, isn't flaunted here."

He wrote his senior essay for high school on farm policy and majored in agricultural economics at the University of Missouri. He and his wife, a Chicago-native and agronomy major, grew their greenhouse operation together and work together to edit his writings.

Hurst also disagrees that farmers have become disconnected from their land by technology or are helpless pawns for mega-corporations. Farms are still family oriented, he said.

"When people say stuff, I wonder if I've done a good job," Hurst said, "or is it just that they're surprised I've done something?"

Information from: St. Joseph News-Press, http://www.stjoenews-press.com


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