We had some great volunteers out to help us catch up with some long overdue weeding in the fields. This brought about an amazing conversation stirred up by the storm clouds that went around us and never really gave us a single drop of rain that Sunday! The conversation went on about why do we as farmers not really share the struggles and the real pains of the farming enterprises we run,. So much of our lives are beyond our control (ie.weather, pests, etcetera), long hours most people could not imagine, and the public demand for cheap food. I watch some of my friends posts on Facebook, and Instagram, many whom farm like I do, and I know that it isn't all those pretty pictures that we share. I drive the highway to market and I can see the corn going silver colored, curling up and dying in the field with these dry conditions. I pray that myself & my neighbors won't lose our farms because we can't fill contracts or grow enough crops to pay the bills. I am not a dooms day kinda girl with a gloomy personality, I choose to make the best of whatever we are dealt, however I am still very aware of how fine a line many a farmer walks on a regular basis.
The conclusion of that conversation is that most of maybe take it as a personal failure, or can't look at the harshness and maintain the mental ability to keep moving forward despite the odds. Not sure we really had a firm answer but above is and was my first attempt at keeping it real! People there is a drought, the fact that there are still vegetables giving us food amazes me. There is increased pest pressure with these stresses, we are losing crops to bolting and heat stress! It is hard to get a crop in looking fresh in the kind of heat we have experienced. Enjoy your food it is hard to grow!
Cheers, Jess
SMILE!
"Putting the Culture Back in Agriculture."
