Valentine's Day would be different this year. Recently, I attended the Women Managing the Farm Conference in Wichita, KS. On the Silent Auction table, was a book that had been advertised on RFD TV:
I admit, I had second thoughts. Duh...It's a book. He hasn't picked up a book since college (minus the seed catalogs and equipment manuals). But, I felt intrigued...I began to look through the book. And began to think that he might...just might...actually like it!
The contents of American Farmer is mostly photographs (so not much reading involved!). Still pictures, taken by the expert photographer Paul Mobley, showing emotion, rage, happiness, and pride. There are pictures that show loss and gain. Faces of Agriculture that tell stories of their experiences on the farm.
The featured farmers are from all over the United States. There are actually several farmers from Alaska - I will never fully understand how they survive the winters. But, their location allows them to wake up to a views that would take your breath away.
There are pictures that show a farmer's sensitive side - their love towards living creatures.
There are young farmers excited for the future.
And old farmers reminiscing about all the good times.
Some farmers have thousands of animals on their farm while others just have a few.
There are pictures of farmers completing everyday tasks.
Farmers enjoying a visit with their neighbors even when they have so many things to do.
And they enjoy the fruits of their labor with their family and workers.
Being profitable makes a farmer hopeful for the future.
When I returned home from the Women Managing the Farm conference, I brought American Farmer to my husband. His eyes lit up when he saw what it was! As we looked through it and read a few of their stories together, I knew I had made the right choice for a Valentine's Day gift. This gift was not anything he could use or make, but the pictures and farmers' stories were things that he could relate to. He knows the struggles, joy, and pride embraced by American Farmer's faces. He enjoyed looking at each page and finding the name, location, and what the farmer raised raised on his/her farm. Success is mine!
I also enjoyed looking at American Farmer. The stories, pictures, and quotes made me giggle, laugh, and even tear up a bit. Looking through the book reminded me that we all need to remember to thank farmers for all they do. With all the regulations, cutting, and anti-agriculture activists out there, farming has become a thankless job. Don't these people realize that without farmers, they would have no food? What do they expect to eat?
Farmers know how to take care of their land, the environment, and their animals. Agriculture is the most honest way of life. And it's a life I would never ever want to leave.
"From breakfast, or noon at the latest, to dinner, I am mostly on horseback, Attending to My Farm or other concerns, which I find healthful to my body, mind, and affairs."
- Thomas Jefferson
