The Farming Tradition

A couple of months ago, I was contacted to speak out my local township watch meeting.  Our township has a local business owner, resident, or expert give a presentation each month about something going on in our community.  The township decided to have me come to speak about my family farm.  I was not really looking forward to the presentation, but I knew it is an important opportunity to be in the community, and create a dialogue with my neighbors.  I am not necessarily afraid of public speaking, but I am always nervous that I won't be as prepared as I should be.

My grandparents are part of the township watch, and were very excited to have my speak to the group.  Grandpa used to be the master of the slideshow, always eager to show off the accomplishments he has made on the farm.  Now he has passed the task on to me, and while I have changed the show a little bit, I still like to use many of his old slides.

The farm just after Grandpa and Grandpa fixed it up in 1975.  

I think it is a little different now than it used to be when Grandpa did his presentations.  He always boasted about the new technology, the mechanization, and the expansion of the farm.  He is proud that our business was able to grow from one barn in his backyard, into one of the more successful farms in the state.  I am always a little bit apprehensive showing off our business acumen, since most people would rather believe that everything was still in the backyard.  I put more emphasis on community, and public works, and not quite so much on the hogs.  The audience has changed, from neighborhood farmers, to just neighbors.  They still have to put up with the big machinery, the funny smells, and occasional pig escapes, but they don't always see it as an economic or community benefit that our neighbors used to see. 

My presentation went fine, and I was able to meet some more faces in my community, answer a few questions, and even invite some people out for a farm tour.  Our door is always open to our neighbors, they just have to ask. People seemed pretty engaged, and were definitely excited about things we are doing to manage our environmental impact, as well as improve our animal care. We are proud of the farm, just as Grandpa and Grandma are, and we want to show people that we can be a big farm and a good neighbor.  

The most surprising thing of the whole evening,  was when the neighbor smack-dab in the middle of our farmland raised his hand and commented to the whole group, that he had never known a more caring family or business in the community, than our farm family.  He couldn't imagine having better neighbors, or a business that chose to do more for the people that supported it.  He was pleased with our animal care, and our manure management, as well as our scholarships, school trip funding, and Christmas hams.  He was glad to see that our family tradition was continuing on to the next generation, and  I think Grandpa and Grandma were most proud of that.  

An Anomaly: the Agriculture Optimist

Happy New Year!  It's finally getting cold around the farm and while we don't have snow right now, we are running into the typical winter problems with housing the sows outside.  Putting straw in the sow huts outside is a weekly activity, and frozen water bowls are something to look out for.  Friday we had a breaker that kept blowing and shutting off the water bowl heater, so Dad and I went over to thaw one it out (Dad did most of the fixing, I was emotional support).  The sows were sure happy to see us!

(The orange juice container had hot water to thaw the frozen heaters. The mud is from the Michigan freeze/thaw winter.)

While we were out fixing heaters, I was really enjoying my day.  I love going around the farm and looking at things.  I love seeing the people and the animals.  I love actually being able to see the difference we make every day.  Most of my friends don't have jobs where they get to see the whole supply chain of their industry.  I get to see the pigs from birth to market (and even into bacon or ham), I see the crops go from seeds to feed, and I get to see how our part time help grows from young high school kids with no plans to responsible adults with a passion for their prospective careers, even if it's not on the farm.  Farms are just a good place for things to grow.  

What I never see on the farm, but always deal with when talking about it is the politics of farming.  Maybe farms have done it to themselves, but I don't see how my life can be such a big political issue.  Some people think I am "brainwashed" by "Big Ag", not able to learn the "real" methods of agriculture.  Others feel that I am "oppressed" by the way things are in the industry, that I don't have choices or channels to make my farm the best it can be.  I like that people are talking about farming.  I love that we have research on what we grow.  I know these things can help us improve, that new methods and technology will develop from these conversations.  I only want the cynicism to subside on both sides, trust to flourish, and real listening to occur.  On both sides.  Farmers need to be open, honest and vulnerable.  Consumers need to be the same.  We aren't going to agree all of the time, but the mutual respect needs to be there.  It's the way we can move forward for the betterment of all.  I am tired of seeing people fighting back an forth about the "right" way.  We aren't listening, just throwing around the ideology that sounds best at the moment.

While I want to talk about the hard questions of agriculture, I want to stay an optimist.  I love what I do, I love the animals, and I see any challenges as an opportunity to do something great.  I have found through my own experiences, that most people are good people. I have faith that we can make ag better, we only have to try.