In the shade of the old sycamore tree
that had shaded many a picnic, work day, and holiday, we all sat.
Each of us had his or her own job to do in the line that we formed
along both sides of a hand-made bench. It was a cool afternoon in
early June. The birds were starting their evening song as the breeze
seemed to chase away the hot sun. The 200 ears of freshly picked corn
lay stacked in bright yellow vegetable lugs. The empty cobs that had
already been stripped of their golden glory lay piled beside the tree
waiting to be fed to the livestock. The assembly line that ran
between the two piles consisted of three generations. Grandpa chopped
the ends of each ear of corn and stacked it into a pan. His wife and
their four granddaughters were shucking and silking each ear, but
not fast enough to keep up. The girls' mother stood close by ready to
cream each ear that they passed to her table. Stories and laughter
ran between the workers as fast as ears of corn could be processed.
An onlooker might have seen a group of people working after a long
morning's toil. But, to the members of the little party, these
moments of shared labor were priceless.
Knowing that I want to continue
farming, I've had many questions to answer. People are always asking
me things like, “Why do you want to work hard all of your life for
little wealth?” I have really been thinking about this recently,
and I've realized one of the main reasons “Why” farming is
something I wish to pursue.
My answer, simply put, is this: family
involvement.
Farming, unlike almost any other
occupation, allows multi-generational involvement. The scene
described above was one from our farm not too long ago. Just as in
that example, I have been able to work along-side my father, mother,
all four of my grandparents, and many other family members. The
knowledge and understanding that has come from this ability has an
immeasurable impact in my life.
From this multi-generational
involvement with my family, I've learned not only concrete skills,
but I've gained a love to work and a love to learn. Both of my
grandmothers are and always have been very hard workers even in the
midst of difficult situations. Listening to their stories has helped
me gain perspective on many things. After high-school, my grandfather
started seriously studying farming and management techniques for the
modern dairy. Even today he studies herd improvement for his herd of
registered Black Angus. He continues to impress upon me the
importance of learning.
Most of all, I've learned that not all
“wealth” comes in the form of money or things. I consider myself,
along with most other farmers, to be very wealthy in things that
really matter...Things like love and wisdom passed from generation to
generation. The “togetherness” that farming encourages creates
not only a well grounded, firm understanding of many things, but also
a sense of inter-dependence on one another as a family. Many farmers
contain a wealth of useful information and many stories. Listening to
older and wiser farmers has allowed me not only to learn through my
own mistakes, but also to avoid the mistakes of those who have come
before me. Being a farmer isn't about living in the middle of nowhere
with a huge garden and a bunch of animals that run all over your
property. Farming is about hard work, long days, and strong family
ties. That is the heart of farming.
Hannah
6/12
