Recently, I was sitting in a college level Agriculture class, our professor stated that girls often don’t return back to the farm; and these days you are lucky if the boys return to the farm. We were told that many don’t farm because people can make at least twice as much money in town than they can on the farm. While I agree that farming usually isn’t profitable, when did farming become just about the profit? I was raised on the farm and am proud of it. I am proud of our farm, and am glad for the values and responsibility it taught me. Why is this world so concerned with profit? The way I see it is if you can get by on the farm you are doing good – because that usually means that your major bills are being paid on and you have food on the table. Many people seem to depend so much on others these days. They don’t seem to know any other way.
I am a female, age 26. I was born on the farm, moved off the farm to go to school for 1 year, couldn’t stand not living on the farm and came back. I am back in school, hoping to get a degree in Agriculture because I truly believe it is our future. Without agriculture nothing else will stand up. I realize that there are not many like me, but it is becoming a growing trend to get back to our roots and farm. Even if it is just urban farming. Food is the most important thing to me. I can do without other things, so many people in our society fail to see that. Sure I would love to have a new house, drive a new truck, not have to work so hard all the time – but what then would be the point of living. I enjoy my work most of the time, most people can’t say that about their office jobs.
I enjoy teaching my children responsibility, I enjoy seeing them run through the fields and exploring. I love knowing that not only do I but my kids know where their food comes from. Sure I do go to the grocery store, but not nearly as often as a lot of people. We only buy a few groceries each month, and truthfully if we had to we could do without those few groceries. I can almost everything I know to, my daughter and son will both learn when they are old enough. Preserving food for the unknown times is something I feel everyone should know. Our ancestors did it for a way of survival. Many died trying to learn how to keep enough food to last through the year. I feel we at least owe them something for leaving us with such a knowledge on food preservation.
Yes farming seems to be a dying art, but I feel that it has to start living again or we all will be in BIG trouble. Oh and when I say farming I am not talking about these 8000 acre “farms” that have managers and presidents… I am talking about true family farms. Those that the average American family tries to farm. I was raised on a 300 acre family farm, and even though my parents had to work away from the farm, I grew to love everything there is about the farm. My dad went to work every day, got home at 4 or 5 and went to the fields until dark, sometimes working after dark. My mom is the same way. As soon as she gets home she is either in the house doing housework or out helping my dad on the farm. That is what farm families do. On Sunday morning mom and dad would feed the animals, eat breakfast, get ready for church, go to church and then Sunday afternoons are reserved for family. The only farm work is the necessary farm work- taking care of animals.
