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.