Small Farm Rising is a little gem of a documentary, filmed and directed by photographer and filmmaker Ben Stechschulte of New York City. While it was completed and released back in 2012, it seems to have quietly held its space on the internet without a lot of attention. The film dips in and out of several ordinary days throughout the seasons on three different first-generation farms in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State: Asgaard Farm, Fledging Crow Vegetables, and Essex Farm.

Jason Rutledge has worked in the Appalachian mountains for over 40 years. From the beginning of his career in the woods, he was told he needed to embrace modern technology, rely on heavy machinery and exploit the forest for all its worth. But, fate had different plans for Jason. Through an almost magical coincidence, a rare horse breed came into his life, and he shunned the industrial trappings of his trade and embraced the proven methods of the last thousand years.