Sunday, April 8, 2018

Who wants to be a farmer?

 I recently saw  on Facebook where a person posted pictures of her two young children petting a calf on a local farm.  She labeled it "two future farmers."  In my humble opinion there are few more important callings.  In this area at least there are a few vegetable farms and even fewer dairy farms.  Agriculture has been pretty much taken over by large corporate farms making it nearly impossible for smaller, individually owned farms to thrive.  The reason is simple.  The meat and produce provided by larger operations is cheaper.

However, there are many people who would be willing to pay more for home grown, organic vegetables and dairy and beef products. Not really enough to earn one a good living but it is possible especially where a farm and it's buildings and land have been passed down from one generation to the next.

It's too bad.  But farming is a tough life.  I used to spend part of my summers on my uncle's dairy farm.  It was up early and then work all day.  I don't recall him or his family ever taking vacations.  Yet by the end of the day even though you're tried there's a good feeling that you did important work.

I hope the mild interest being shown in farming today continues and gains strength.

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