SOUTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Down on the farm is the last place graphic designer Valerie Gates saw herself and her family, but the Wellesley mother has started seeking out fertile soil for a living.

NewsCenter 5’s David Brown reported that Gates has become a regular at South Dartmouth’s Round the Bend farm. The farm, which produces meat and cheese, is harnessing Gates’ creative skills to help boost business.

Gates writes about local organic farms on her blog in exchange for organic produce, raising the visibility of small New England farmers while getting food for her family -- one example of how bartering is returning in the digital age.

“I think we all have skills that we can offer,” said Gates. “And we all have skills that we can barter. I think this is really important to get back to roots, back to nature, and to have a system of bartering. It works for everybody.”

Farm owner Atone Vieira agrees that the bartering is a useful community-building exercise that can offer a more pragmatic exchange than other forms of commerce.

“It’s a wonderful way to build community,” said Vieira. “People have various skill sets or their cup overflows in different ways. We can share what we have excess of or talent. We are all the better for it.”

Valerie also brings her daughters to the farms she writes about and posts photos of the group and her observations about the produce and growing operations. She says it’s important for people to understand where the food they eat comes from and how it’s produced.

“When you go to the grocery, like Shaw’s or Star Market, it’s all packaged so nicely and I think it’s nice to see where food comes from and really appreciate the animals for what they are giving,” she said.

Gates’s son, Cameron Friedman, said that the experience of traveling to various local farms has given him an appreciation of the farming process and a more tangible connection with the food he eats.

“I think that people don’t really realize that without farms, they can’t really have much food, so I think it play a role in how this world turns around,” he said.