Film documents journey from finance to farming
Like thousands of Americans, John Ubaldo’s life was drastically changed on Sept. 11, 2001.
Ubaldo, a Skidmore College alumnus from the class of 1988, was a highly successful investment banker on Wall Street when he lost his best friend in the World Trade Center attacks. That’s when he decided to trade his finance career in New York City for one in farming.
He bought 185 acres of land on the Battenkill River in Cambridge, New York, where
he lives a quiet life raising livestock and crops for himself and his family and friends,
predominantly in Bedford and Pound Ridge. The goal? To implement healthier farming
methods that were used more than 100 years ago—and to be an advocate for genetically
modified organism labeling, animal rights, the preservation of crop diversity and
the reduction of chemical fertilizers to help preserve small farms and rural America.
Skidmore students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to meet this banker-turned-farmer on campus on April 4. He’ll talk about his life and his farm, meet with students during lunch in the dining hall and participate in a film screening for The Bullish Farmer, a documentary about Ubaldo and sustainable farming, at 6:30 p.m. in the Gannett Auditorium. His chicken will also be served in the dining hall for dinner.
“John is a person who leads by example, and his passion is inspiring,” Levi Rogers, director of Sustainability Programs and Assessment, said. “He shows that businesses guided by the principles of sustainability can be successful and thrive.”
The Bullish Farmer highlights Ubaldo’s farming career and is intended to spark a conversation about eating habits and how food choices affect human health. Ubaldo believes that his old-fashioned farming method is one the entire country needs to adopt—it’s healthier, more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Ubaldo raises Berkshire pigs, black Angus cattle, chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. They roam free on his farm and are extremely well cared for. He doesn’t use antibiotics, hormones, heavy metals, poisons, growth promoters, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified grains, many of which are found in Big Agriculture’s farming methods.
Big Agriculture is a term to describe corporate farming and contributes to many issues facing the agriculture industry today. Global food prices are soaring, and current agricultural methods and farm policies are affecting our health and our planet. Private and family-owned farms oftentimes can’t compete with “Big Ag” and are forced to sell or close completely.
Ubaldo is confronting Big Ag head-on through his advocacy and farming methods—and is living proof that farms can feed people in a responsible, sustainable way.
Ken Marsolais, a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner, is a filmmaker, producer and director of The Bullish Farmer. Nancy Vick was also a filmmaker, producer and writer for the documentary. Ubaldo’s invitation to campus was made possible by the Sustainability Office and Skidmore College Dining Services.
