8. Welcome to the Farm

I have tried to make it clear that FFA is more than just livestock and farm living. But it is important to remember that farmers feed the world, they work hard so we don’t have to. Farmers don’t get to call-in in the winter after a bad snow or rain storm, I promise they are up first thing in the morning

checking their livestock and equipment. They have to make sure their livestock is in good shape, make sure they survived the harsh weather, and break ice so they can get water, among all the other daily chores. It’s just another day at the office for them. Coming from a small rural town it is common to see people out checking their herd after a snow storm, it’s common to hear the equipment being moved down to the next field for harvest, and it is extremely common to get stuck behind a tractor for several miles on your way to town.

Knowing all the tasks farmers are responsible for on a daily basis, I wanted to know what makes them wake up every day and love what they do. What keeps them motivated after a long harvest season? Why do they love farming? I asked a couple farmers from home and these are some of the answers I received: One said “Being a part of one of the largest employing jobs in the country and knowing I am helping to feed the world is what keeps me going every day.” Another said, “Being in the great outdoors, knowing I am feeding a growing world’s population is rewarding in itself. When I am driving that tractor across the hay field

on a hot summer’s day there is nothing else I’d rather be doing.” For the younger generation I asked another question. I wanted to know how growing up on a farm either with livestock or crops has helped them become a better person? I got some really awesome responses with this one. One said, “It has shown me responsibility and how to work hard as well as how to care for something and have a passion for it.” Another said, “It taught me the value of hard work, not everything is going to come easy but I would not want it any other way.”

As you can see, growing up with an agricultural background benefits the younger generations in many ways, teaching them valuable life lessons that they will use for the rest of their lives, such as, hard work, responsibility, and determination. Farming might not be a career path for everyone but the farmers that I spoke with would not have it any other way. Being part of the great outdoors, feeding the nation, and teaching the younger generation, is all in a hard day’s work for these guys.