Why do we do it?

Rob and I both work off of the farm.  At calving time this keeps us both very busy.  Only one of our co-workers is also involved in Agriculture.  Usually during our coffee breaks the discussion of how we spent our evening or weekend comes up.  My input at this time of the year often involves a calving story.  Details can include one of us getting up during the night, the cold weather, bringing a calf into the house to warm up (that was this morning, when it was -32C).  Over the past few years the topic of what we sell our cattle for has also entered into the discussion.  There have been some really lean years for people in agriculture.  Whether you have been raising beef, pork, or crops.  One co-worker in particular usually asks, "Well why do you keep doing it then?"  Good question - "Why are we still in Agriculture?'  Some days I wonder that my self, but most days these are some of the reasons that keep us going:

• Knowing that we have a connection to the land and that we are a part of feeding the world
• Seeing a calf being born and taking it's first drink of milk.

• Finding the beauty in a cold winter morning by seeing the calves run through the snow.

• Being able to raise our children and someday our grandchildren in an environment that is healthy and where they are able to learn values and responsibility.

With every job there are sacrifices and hard work along the way, but I don't think either of us would be any happier just working a day job and giving up the farm.  We know that each year may bring successes and hardships and no matter what we do sometimes that end result will be taken out of our hands.  It's not a glamorous job, but we sure do need people to want to do it.  I hope that those that are not directly connected to agriculture can have an appreciation of what we do and why we do it. 

I’m Just a Farmer, Plain and Simple

By Bobby Collier

I’m just a farmer,

Plain and simple.

Not of a royal birth

But rather, a worker of the earth.

I know not of riches

But rather, of patches on my britches

I know of draught and rain,

Of pleasure and pain.

I know of the good and the bad,

The happy and the sad.

I am a man of emotions.

A man who loves this land,

And the beauty of its sand.

I know of a spring’s fresh flow

And autumn’s golden glow,

Of a newborn calf’s hesitation,

And the eagle’s destination.

I know of tall pines,

And long, waiting lines.

Of the warmth of campfires,

And the agony of flat tires.

 But I am a man who loves his job

And the life I live.

I am a man who works with God,

I cannot succeed without his help,

For you see,

I’m just a farmer

Plain and simple.