Farmers Rock

Here is a great list of reasons why being a farmer "rocks."

10.Outdoors – there’s nothing like the smell of fresh air, or even better, the smell of fresh cut hay!
9.Fun Equipment – What other job do you get to drive large tractors, combines, sprayers or anything else?
8. Weather – You always know the weather, even when you don’t want to.
7. You’re your own boss – Well besides mother nature – but she’s another story.
6. Job security – As long as there is land to farm and mouths to feed, Farmers will have the most important job there is.
5. Farming communities – There is no community like a real farm community. There are no strangers, just some people you might not know yet. When a Farmer goes down, the whole town is there to pick up where he, or she, left off.
4. No need to clean – You have an excuse to be dirty and stay dirty. As Will Rogers so eloquently said, “What this country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.” Dirty nails show more than dirt, they show work ethic, discipline and the most selfless workers the world knows.
3. Knowledge - Who else but a Farmer can tell you more about the weather than a weather man, more about a tractor than a mechanic and more about their land than anyone else.
2. The View- Your office has the best view of anyone – the outdoors, the fresh smells,  and the earth beneath your feet. What’s better than that?
1. The best part? You feed the world. There are not many other people who can say that about their job."

It's obvious to me whoever wrote this doesn't farm for a living.  Yes these all ring true but it only looks at the reasons farming LOOKS like it's fun!

Have you ever tried to build a self sustaining business from the ground up?  Have you ever lost income due to no fault of your own?  Have you ever even tried to take care of a herd of animals in sub zero temperatures?  I am sure my brother in law wasn't thinking about how great it is to be a cowman last night when his frozen fingers tried to help two newborn calves nurse on stubborn cows!

May of 2011 was no fun for me.  It rained 25 inches in two months and I lost most of my wheat crop and couldn't plant a new crop on time.

This year was a lot more fun with excellent crops and more than adequate rainfall.  The market prices slid all year and took some of that fun out.

It's funny how people perceive farming who don't do it for a living.  Heck, it's even funny how we who do it perceive ourselves and each other.  I do enjoy the casual nature of the business, I can even dress casual for church and be accepted by God and my neighbor.  I do like to dress up though, that's the way I was raised.

Farmers do rock though and my hat is off to you.  It isn't for the reasons listed above, it's because you have the passion to do something the world will always need, feed, clothe, house and fuel the world.

Ed Winkle