Today, March 15, 2016, is National Agriculture Appreciation Day.
It's a day when all of us in agriculture promote our way of life and our work to others while getting some national recognition. However, I won't lie, every day is agriculture appreciation day.
I was raised in it, work in it and live in this way of life each and every day.
And the older I become, I realize just how much my parents sacrificed for our way of life.
My dad was the farmer and my mom was the farmer's wife who wore heels and worked in town.
However, she sacrificed just as much as he did.
See below for an article my sister Sarah and I wrote for our local newspaper to celebrate agriculture and the women who raise their kids in it, work in it and live agriculture each and every day!
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Many things change over the course of a year and even a decade; kids grow taller, the wise gain more wrinkles, we celebrate new life and praise lives as they depart this earth. However, some things never change, like the core values of agriculture. It's been the same for centuries. As our first President George Washington, once said,
“Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment of man”.
Sure there have been significant changes and positive strides in the way we raise our animals, produce a crop and care for our land but the values are the same. Farmers produce more with less land, less water, and less environmental impact. But the core premise of agriculture has been a mainstay and tradition forever--work hard with integrity, provide for your family, grow a good crop and trust God knows what he is doing
(especially with the weather).
Farmers work hard with their worn hands and calluses that stay with them for a lifetime. They rise before the sun and many times don’t come home until the moon is high in the sky. As kids, we liked to sleep in but our dad would come in and say, “Girls, you’re burnin’ daylight”. He, as a farmer, was always ready to get up and take on the day.
Working hard and long hours has always been a part of farming.
As farm girls one thing we have learned is that on the 8th day God created the farmer, but on the 9th he created the farm girl, the farm wife and the farm mom. While our mom didn’t grow up on a farm, the values she taught us alongside our dad were the same--work hard with integrity, provide for your family, grow a good crop and trust God knows what he is doing. As a young girl she wanted to own a piece of farmland just as much as our dad and she eventually got the chance to do so.
This month we dedicate and celebrate not only the farmer but the women on the farm. We know they may not be the face of the farm or at the forefront of decisions or farm chores. However, they do need to be appreciated for raising the farm kids, caring for the farmer, doing chores when needed, caring for a baby calf in her house, running errands in town, and feeding the family. She is the woman who realizes her floors will never be clean and the laundry will never end. She needs to be thanked for working with her children on their 4-H projects last minute, running kids to club meetings, and for buying their 4-H showing outfits while she watches them work hard with the integrity she taught them.
As we celebrate Agriculture Appreciation Month this March and National Ag Day on March 15th, we encourage you to learn something new about agriculture or reach out to those working in agriculture. And as you are eating each meal, thank a farmer and pray for the farm women who also sacrificed to bring food to your table.
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