“I have traveled far, but I haven’t seen a better place than the field behind my barn.”
Wendell Berry’s Grandfather
“Farming…that’s really hard work, isn’t it?” This is the typical response (usually expressed with a bit of concern in the voice) when people learn that Pam and I, now in our late 60s, have been farming for nearly 15 years. I usually reply with a story about my visit to Wall Street in the early 2000s:
I was at a meeting in lower Manhattan, staying at a hotel near South Street. Each morning, at around 6:30, I would take a walk. I’d wander down Wall Street to Broadway, then south to Battery Park. I’d turn onto Water Street and head north, returning to my hotel for breakfast and to prepare for work. I remember being impressed by the row of limos in front of the big banks on “the Street” every morning. Those limos were still there at 5:30 in the afternoon when I returned to the hotel after my meetings, and at 9:30 at night, after dinner with colleagues and visits to some of the area’s local watering holes. It was obvious that that the people who ride in the back seats of those limousines work pretty hard for what I’m sure are seven and eight figure incomes. But what are they giving up? What are their marriages like? Do they even know their kids? How could you know your kids, when you’re in an office staring at a computer screen and making deals on the telephone for 15 -18 hours a day? I’m sure there were some great moms and dads riding in those limos, but I know that when I was a research oceanographer and away a great deal, I missed a lot of our son’s growing up.
These days, I go to work with my dog every morning…and with my wife too (I know I’m going to get into trouble for saying it that way). The work is generally physical, but not hard. Sometimes it’s tedious. And sometimes, like when we’re stacking hay in the barn on a hot day, it is physically hard. But it hasn’t killed us yet. Pam and I both agree that the regular, low impact, whole-body movement that farming demands generally leaves us feeling pretty good and we think it’s helping to keep us healthy. It’s an exercise program that you just can’t put off. I might skip a workout or two (or three) at the gym, but I can’t skip feeding time in the barn. For young people, the physicality is there if they want it, but as we age, some of our own horse power is easily replaced by machines or by kids, grandkids and farm hands.
There are few better environments than a farm for raising children. Had we known this when we were in our 30s, Pam and I would have begun farming, or at least homesteading, much sooner. I have been concerned with how little people, especially young people, know about their food. That lack of knowledge translates into poorly informed and misinformed eating habits and sometimes dangerous fad diets. For instance, many people equate a vegetarian diet with a healthy diet. This is ridiculous. Increasingly vegans, particularly children and the elderly, people who need animal protein in their diets, are turning up sick. More than 90% of the soy (which is used to make tofu) grown in this country is genetically modified and sprayed with glyphosate, a carcinogen. Farming, particularly small-scale farming provides some control over one’s food supply, and an understanding of good nutrition that, from my observations, seems to pass from parents to children.
Children on farms have unstructured places to play “imagination games.” Psychologists believe that unstructured play is critical to a child’s emotional development. Structure comes in the form of 4-H and other farm-based programs, as well as daily chores. Kids learn responsibility and to care for living things. A dog is often a co-worker rather than simply a couch ornament. A calf is something to love, and care for, and eventually, to let go of. As a university professor, I knew hundreds of students. Those who grew up on farms nearly always had a better sense of the realities of life (and death) than urban and (particularly) suburban kids. The farm kids I’ve known have done well in school and most attended excellent colleges and universities. When their parents have been successful in farming, they often returned to the farm after college or some other short period off the farm. As a parent, there has to be a certain pleasure in going into the field with your children every day (though I’m not sure the kids always share that enthusiasm), and even greater satisfaction hearing a son or daughter say, “Mom, Dad, I think I’d like to take over the farm someday.”
I believe that even children who are not growing up on a farm should have the opportunity to spend some time caring for plants and animals, by visiting, volunteering or interning on a farm, or by participating in a school or community gardening program. Many schools and colleges have gardens and future farmer programs. Some offer degrees in agricultural disciplines. Caring for other living things and learning where our food comes from is an important part of a child’s development.
To all of that, add the fact that every day on the farm is “casual Friday.” And you can’t beat the commute to and from work. It is just a whole lot easier doing 5 mph on a tractor moving the chicken house between pastures than doing 5 mph on the Thruway, trying to get home during rush hour.
There is one more ingredient that makes the farmer’s life a blessed life. It is perhaps the most important of all – the people. When friends and family ask us, “What (in hell) made you become farmers?” Our answer is always the same, “The people.” We got into farming because we were amazed and inspired by the farmers we met. They are confident, without being conceited. They are intelligent, creative and technically competent in multiple areas, the original multi-taskers. I’ve met people who can replace the starter switch on a tractor in the morning, deliver a lamb in the afternoon, and balance the general ledger before dinner. As we began entering the farming community, we encountered patient teachers and competent guides to the deep knowledge that comprises agriculture. Experienced farmers were generous with their time, with their tools, with their knowledge. Pam and I began farming because we wanted to be part of that community. Since then we’ve become closer in our marriage, I think because we work together every day to build our family farm business. We’ve had the chance to introduce others, much younger than ourselves, to farming, and that completes a circle; it’s incredibly rewarding.
Certainly not everyone seeks the peasant’s life. And few of us can afford to drop careers, sell the house and the BMW, and “bet it all” on a farm. If we did, the kids would likely have us committed. But some of us, particularly the young, whose life paths are not yet be clearly defined, might give this path some thought. I can promise that you’ll work hard. But you will do so with the knowledge that what you’re doing – producing good, healthy food for others – is critically important. You will know that your children, if and when you decide to have children, will be growing up in a healthy environment, learning amazing life lessons that are difficult to learn anywhere else in today’s world. You will be an independent business person, whose life will not be stress free (no one’s is), but who has some control over its direction. I can almost promise that you will never be a billionaire by farming, but you can be comfortable. If you’re satisfied with “comfortable”, you will be happy. I promise that you will sit down for dinner each night and feel grateful for the people around you, for the food on your table, and for the blessed life you are living. You can’t do much better than that.
Season’s greetings to all of our customers, colleagues and friends. And best wishes for a happy, healthy new year!