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Product Description

Independent filmmaker David Sutherland's The Farmer's Wife immerses us in this intimate portrait of the lives of a young Nebraska farm couple, Juanita and Darrel Buschkoetter. Shot on location over three years, The Farmer's Wife follows the couple and their three children as they endure the seemingly insurmountable economic and emotional struggles of trying to run a family farm in America in the 1990s. The dramatic story of the Buschkoetters' everyday lives plays out in their own words, in their own home, gleaned from over 200 hours of film shot on location. The sensitive microphones pick up their sighs and prayers as well as the unscripted conversations that make up the film's narrative. With candor and intimacy, they discuss problems familiar to many families, urban and rural alike: parents who have trouble accepting their grown children's families, siblings who worry about a fair distribution of their parents' assets, deciding whether to be a stay-at-home mother or seek employment outside the home, extreme financial stress, marital difficulties, and so on. With faith, hope, and hard work, Darrel and Juanita manage to hold on to their marriage and save their farm. This is an uplifting, intimate look at the struggle to live a traditional life in a changing world. --Tara Chace

Acclaimed independent filmmaker David Sutherland takes viewers deep inside the world of Juanita and Darrel Buschkoetter, a young Nebraska farm couple, to tell a compelling love story. The program follows the couple as they face seemingly insurmountable economic hardship, only to confront an even greater challenge - saving their marriage. In the end, the couple realizes their dreams by finding inner strength in faith, hope and family.

Described by the Chicago Tribune as "one of the extraordinary television events of the decade," The Farmer's Wife has been nominated for three Television Critics Association awards, rose to finalist stature at the 1999 Banff International Television Festival, and received a Merit Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The film was also granted a Joady Award for outstanding media that celebrates the lives, cultures, and issues of working people; and a special achievement award for excellence from the National Council on Family Relations.

Customer Reviews:

• Farmer's Wife is Extraordinary
  Farmer's Wife is the most moving PBS (or other) production I have seen. It is extraordinary in so many ways: you feel you actually get to know the Buschkoetters (the family) as their amazing story unfolds over the course of three years. At times, one cannot believe their marriage can last, and at others you couldn't fathom them being apart.

  Struggle is so much a part of their life, their farm, their marriage. The film reveals a way of life I could only have imagined - the small farmer and his family battling weather, family, government, banks, and at times, one another to make ends meet.

  If the measure of heroism is the enormity of the obstacle endured, then these people are real heroes indeed.

  This is six hours well spent....more info

• Insightful video you'll want to watch over and over
  I watched the series first on Frontline (PBS) and taped part of it. We watch the taped part over and over at home, but I never saw the ending, which I hear is happy, so I'm buying the video today. It is relaxing to watch. Sometimes, after a hard day's work, I turn on Farmer's Wife, and I can identify with Juanita's sadness, or sometimes I think maybe my life isn't so bad compared to some of their struggles.... My kids (age 5, 4 and 1) like the video and especially the daughters in the film. My husband and I want to purchase a farm, and this show, shows the ups and downs of farming. It also shows the differences in mind sets of Juanita and Darryl. Darryl couldn't understand that Juanita wanted to make flowers for her sisters wedding, and get away for a weekend. He viewed it as in-laws imposing on her, when couldn't they see how much she had to do already? He sure worked hard to keep up with the bills. They are to be commended! One thing, I didn't understand though, was why I never saw a garden on their land. Juanita went to a Christian charity to get food. If you have land, you can grow and preserve food through canning, etc. They probably could have eaten one of their pigs instead of selling them for a loss. I just got the impression that Juanita wasn't totally sold on being the stay-at-home, traditional farmer's wife. She wanted and pursued a desk job, where she seemed to blossom. I wish them the best, and would like to see an update (especially on the very cute daughters). I wonder if any of the money made on these videos goes to them. Perhaps they are financially better off since the video. God bless....more info
• The series is excellent for the truth it shows...
  I watched the series when it was on PBS in 1998 and watching it again hasn't changed my views on Juanita and Darrel Buschkoetter and how odd it is that this couple has a home, land yet they can barely survive.
  
  They have more than enough room next to where they live to plant a huge vegetable garden which would require little care, yet provide a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables for less than ten dollars in seed. Yet they assume that dinner isn't a real dinner unless there is meat on the plate. They could have had a dozen hens for eggs which would have provided more protein for little expense. And if they needed meat that badly why not raise to hogs and keep one for meat?
  
  Travel to third world countries where people are healthier diet wise because they are pretty much vegetarian, and only consume meat occasionally. Now I admit I have a family and circle of friends who no matter how small the lot their home sits on, grow some fresh vegetables. Yet here is this Nebraska couple who grew none. It simple is so odd.
  
  Sadly the series shows how shortsighted many Americans are, because sadly, we have more Buschkoetters in the United States than we admit to. Life is hard, but with smart thinking it doesn't have to be as hard as some people make it. And I know hundreds of ranching and family farms here in Northern California where the couples have a good game plan, where the talents of each are used, and where there isn't the whining and bickering one sees in this couple. Which makes me wonder if this isn't simply a situation where two immature people got in over their head.
  
  And for all the talk about Middle American family values the series simply saddens me for the lack of these values we hear talked about so much. Little help from the extended family, church and community at large. ...more info
• Unique, compelling, unforgettable true-life saga.
  The Farmer's Wife is the story of Juanita and Darrel Buschkoetter, a young Nebraskan farm couple who face seemingly insurmountable economic hardship, only to confront even greater challenges arising from their damaged marriage. Out of their epic struggle emerges a compelling story of faith, perseverance, triumph, and an inspiring example of ordinary people holding on to the dreams -- and each other. Drawing upon more than 200 hours of film shot on location over a period of three years, independent filmmaker David Sutherland has crafted a 6 hour, 30 minute Midwestern true-life saga that is unique, compelling, and unforgettable....more info
• Loved it but the original reviewer is clueless
  Just a note on this hippie from california. You don't just plant a garden on a farm operation. You don't just have some hens for EGgs. They dont live on a commune in southern California and your delusional Kum baya post is silly. First off planting a Garden in Nebraska is like putting a Cactus at the north pole. There is 1200 different kinds of weeds prevalent in the agricultural midwest and having a garden big enough for self sustaining would take hours per day to maintain and only produce when there was enough rain. I especially like the little snippet about getting some chickens. WTF! Eggs for lunch Eggs for Dinner EGGs for BKFST. Of course that would only work in the non-winter months because unless the chicken house was heated in january you would find chickens frozen solid. And if anyone like me who has lived on a farm knows that heating a chicken house would cost a pretty significant chunk of dough. Of course the whole chicken thing is rediculous because at 35 cents a dozen at the market it would be 3 times cheaper to go to the store for eggs. Pe...more info
• The Farmer's Wife
  This video collection will have you thinking twice about your own situation in this life. You will be thankful, hopefully, because the Farmer and his wife and their 3 daughters struggle for years through a financial hardship. How they make it, well you will just have to see this series. It is worth your money if you like mini series collections. It is intense, I first saw this series on PBS years ago, and it never left my mind. I felt for this family of 5. Great series....more info
• down to earth miracle
  There are few films or documentaries that convey such a quiet sense of miracle as this. A farm family's honest sharing of financial and marital difficulties provides a bounty of core values for any viewer to reflect on and be inspired by. The natural portrayal of each individual's unique qualities- both the good and the less admirable are unself-consciously revealed as though the camera was not there.

  From her deep well of faith, Juanita draws up a love story of such resourceful courage, of such a resilient balance of self assertion and selfless family ministry, that she achieves unassuming heroine status. Her husband Darrel, good guy though he is, finally achieves transcendent manhood through the full realization of just how much he loves and appreciates her. An example for all males whose outer frustrations and inner struggles of self-esteem and ego result in acting out negatively toward those who hold the essence of their lives. Though the setting is farm country; the issues are universal and timeless. Should be required viewing in high schools, and standard viewing for couples approaching marriage or encountering marital struggles.

  Want to witness a quiet miracle, something satisfyingly real? Join this family for six-plus hours and be lastingly enriched. (This one's for you, mom.)...more info

• Love, Hope, and Perseverance
  The plight of the small farmer is not fully recognized by those people who are not directly involved. This film is the best way to relate to the joys, and struggles of small farming.

  No one who watches this film will pass a farm, and look at it in the same way as before. And they will never forget Juanita and Darrel. Never! Hopefully, they will also want to then read the statistics on the Farm Aid Website, and get involved before it is too late....more info

• So engrossing I spent 3 Sunday evenings in a row viewing it
  Proves that real life is more absorbing and dramatic than fiction. With the camera right in the faces of a farm couple from Nebraska, we see them struggle with financial disaster after several seasons of drought. We root for the family as Juanita matures and learns to deal with farm credit agency bureaucrats, banks, etc. We feel the couple's frustration and pain as they are unable to pay their bills to local feed stores, etc. and must ask for patience on the part of the merchants. We see the love for the children and the devotion to their church. Both adults are working two jobs (he at a hated job in a sheet metal factory as well as on his farm and his father's farm and she cleaning houses while looking after her own family and taking college classes). Still they can't get caught up financially, let alone ahead. It's a gut-wrenching story that holds out hope at the end with a rainy spring and a late frost resulting in a good harvest. It is also a paean to the family farm and makes you sympathetic to the people who want to work the land without being part of a huge industrial agriculture. Bravo to the director and to the farm family who opened their home to his intrusion so that we might know their story....more info
• Overwhelming Strength,Love and Hope.
  My wife and I watched the Farmers Wife when it first aired on PBS. The strength this couple has is overwhelming.They showed raw,honest emotion that had us glued to our set for 3 nights. At the end of the film you feel as if you know these people and want to know them forever. If you have ever fallen upon hard times,true hard times,this film will give you hope that love,hard work and faith will pull you through.I bought The Farmers Wife(VHS) for my wife's birthday this year and it will be something that we will share with our families and friends.We will cheerish it and watch it often,because in it's own way it gives us a little more strength than we had before we sat down to watch it.Any hard working family man or woman will love and respect this wonderful film....more info