Modern farming lifestyle

Can you picture this? Lying in a field of newly mowed hay, chewing on a stem of that hay, listening to the sound of a newly born calf as it calls to its mother, the clear blue sky above and perhaps the squeaky sound of an old windmill as it turns in the breeze. It sounds inviting doesn’t it? This can be a part of the farming lifestyle. The rewards of raising a family on the farm are great. Here are a few examples. Children can learn responsibility as the life of a newly born animal requires their daily attention to grow to maturity. They obtain a strong work ethic as they plant a seed in the soil and it grows into a plant producing food stuffs for the world. They develop a bond with nature and family as they work side by side with mother, fathers, grandparents and siblings. They can work, make important decisions, laugh, cry and play together. The closest neighbor may be a mile away. The traffic down the road in front of their house could be at the rate of one vehicle per hour. The air is clean and pure and the crime rate is minimal. Here you don’t punch the time clock, and the only boss is yourself. You take your directions from the tasks dictated by mother nature. That is the farmers, dairyman’s and livestock producer's dream.

But evolution has changed much for the family farm as the demand for their products reaches global proportions. China, Japan, Europe and South America have a demand for U.S. farm products such as wheat and corn. We import beef from Central and South America. The family farm now may have to follow different production methods and meet certain criteria and deadlines dictated by contract buyers. The size of the family farm has grown from 100 acres to several hundred or thousands of acres. The equipment may be massive and require operation 24 hours a day. The expenses of operation have deteriorated that margin on the return on their investment. For some a second job in town or a factory are required to make ends meet.

Loyalty to the land, resilience and pride still hold the farming lifestyle in high esteem. There is still no place like the agricultural areas of America to raise a family.