Farmer

Everyone is talking about it this morning; "So God made a Farmer."   Those of us in the farming community are proud to have two minutes that we feel shows our true colors.  We are glad to have some big money behind us, supporting our cause, and our youth organization, the National FFA Association.  I for one am proud of the commercial, regardless of my stance on God, or on Dodge Ram trucks.  It gave voice to a group that sometimes has a hard time reaching a national stage.

The commercial hasn't fixed any of the misconceptions, but it gives agriculture relevancy in pop culture.  When I got on Facebook this morning, my farming friends loved it, and my other friends thought it was a misrepresentation of agriculture.  It didn't show the mean old "Big Ag"  that "really" is farming.  But it got us talking about agriculture together.

We are fighting an uphill battle, but it is worth the fight to have our voices heard.  I get discouraged on some days, but on others I see that the smalls things I do can make a difference.  If I can help one person to see my side of the issue, even if we disagree, then we both go away from the conversation with a more balanced view of the problem. 

Tonight, I am going out to support the next generation of agriculture, at District Ag Leadership Contest.  It might not sound like much, but by volunteering to help with the contest, I am working to keep agriculture supported in my community and keep it alive in my schools.  It's a further way to reach out and present our history and hope to the next generation of lawmakers, writers, manufacturers and agriculture specialists.  Before we can ask others to take up our cause, we must take the time out of our busy days to support our own.