(courtesy of motovo.com)
I see these types of pictures on Facebook and Pinterest all of the time; someone in the agriculture community wanting to show the world how important farms and farmers are to daily life. Someone trying to make people grateful for what we do, instead of bashing us. I completely agree that farmers do a great job feeding people. Citizens of the USA have nearly an endless variety and quantity of food available. We have so many choices that other people do not have.
However, this does not mean we should expect appreciation, especially not more than anybody else receives. Every career is under appreciated; how many times do you think to thank your auditor after they review the last 10 years of tax records? Auditors are completely necessary if we are expected to keep at least some corruption out of our tax system, but we don't go around touting their greatness. Farmers work long, hard hours? So do school teachers, and truck drivers. If we as farmers are expecting people from outside our farms to give us the appreciation and self confidence to keep going, we are going to be waiting for a long time. Each person should be passionate about their life's work, and not depend on other people to make his or her job worth it.
Nobody can do everything, so we each have to make what we do count. We should strive to do quality work. We need to value what we do in somewhat of a selfish way, and take pride in it. We should show appreciation for others, before expecting others to show their appreciation. One of the most powerful ways to lead is by example, and we need to evaluate whether or not we are setting a good one.
(Spring has arrived- and so have the dandelions)
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