In 1978, a radio broadcaster named Paul Harvey gave this speech to millions of people tuned in to his radio show at the Future Farmers of America Convention: “And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer.
"I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait lunch until his wife's done feeding visiting ladies and tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon -- and mean it." So God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer.
"I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait lunch until his wife's done feeding visiting ladies and tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon -- and mean it." So God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt. And watch it die. Then dry his eyes and say, 'Maybe next year.' I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of haywire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. And who, planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty-hour week by Tuesday noon, then, pain'n from 'tractor back,' put in another seventy-two hours." So God made a farmer.
God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor's place. So God made a farmer.
God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor's place. So God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark. It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week's work with a five-mile drive to church.
"Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what dad does.'" So God made a farmer.”
"Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what dad does.'" So God made a farmer.”
What Paul Harvey said in 1978 continue to hold true today. Unfortunately, a lot of people in the United States don’t understand or appreciate what farmers do. I believe that farmers are the most under appreciated group of people in the US and that everyone’s opinions would change if they knew what a farmer has to do so people can drive their cars, eat their meals or get their medications.
You may not think about it, and honestly, I forget it too, but most of the things we use in our daily lives come from the farm. On Mondays when we wake up for class and struggle to leave our comfy bed sheets, we forget those sheets may come from the cotton fields of Georgia. Or on Wednesdays when drive home from work, we forget that the ethanol gas in our cars and trucks may have come from the corn fields of Iowa. Or on Fridays when we make some memories, or in this case, forget some things and drink liquor or beer, we forget that the barley and rye could have been grown on the plains of The Dakotas. And after Netflix bingers get done watching the entire Grey’s Anatomy series, they might forget that prescription meds and x-ray film come from the farm. Along with all those things, tires, ink, crayons, strings on instruments, lumber, paint, drywall, baseballs, footballs, leather, surgical sutures, latex gloves, packaging materials, upholstery, antifreeze, textbooks, adhesives, polymers and way too many more to name all come from the farm.
The very basis of farming is simple: plant and harvest a crop to feed people and animals. The US produces over $50 billion in corn, $40 billion in soybeans, $11 billion in wheat and $5 billion in cotton. The average American farmer feeds about 155 people a year. In the 60s, that number was closer to 25. I wrote a post in January that explains more.
Like another post I wrote, I talk about how technologically advanced the agricultural industry is. Contrary to popular belief, farmers don’t chew tobacco and gawk at tractors all day. They use satellites to map the fields so they don’t overlap on fertilizer and pesticide application, thus saving money and preserving the environment. Along with a lack of overapplication of fertilizers and pesticides, these same maps can inform farmers how much what must be applied if they use irrigation sprayers. Furthermore, farm equipment (tractors, combines, etc.) how become much more gas efficient thus releasing less carbon dioxide into the air.
Just like parents, teachers and police officers, farmers make sacrifices, just in a different way. Not only is farming one of the most dangerous professions in the world with 26 fatalities for every 100,000 workers. On top of that, farming is an extremely financially stressful occupation. If someone were to start their own farm, I would suggest they open up their wallets and withdraw some loans. The average price of a single acre of farmland in the US is more that $4000. Most farms need a few hundred acres to be profitable and the average farm size in the US is 435 acres. Therefore, the average farm costs $1.7 million dollars. And that’s just for land. Factor in the cost of machinery (tractors, combines, plows, balers, grain trucks), seed, animals, fertilizers, diesel and more. Whether or not you’re born into a profitable system, farming is a financial strain. The agricultural industry causes a lot of problems even after their crop has been harvested because crop prices fluctuate a lot. Sometimes they get a lot of money for their crops, and other times they lose money after the season is over. But money aside, a farmer has to hope for good rain and steady sunlight. Those two things are always guaranteed.
No comments:
Post a Comment