In Praise of Family Farmers
In the past week, did you eat anything? Did you drink anything besides plain water? Did you sweeten something with sugar or monk fruit or stevia or honey? Do you have fresh fruit in your kitchen, canned goods in your pantry, meat and veggies in your refrigerator and freezer? Then you are the end user of thousands of unseen and often unappreciated farmers, growers, ranchers, dairy farmers, beekeepers, fruit farmers, vintners, etc. etc. etc.
Every day should be National Agriculture Day. Last week was the official one, and I hope the people who grow, farm, ranch, harvest, and collect food for us so we can eat felt appreciated. Farmers work hard to provide food for American families – according to the USDA, 96% of the farms in the US are family-owned and operated, and most of them – 88% - are small operations that gross less than $350,000 a year. Before you get all excited and decide to go out and start your own small family farm, realize that one good, multi-purpose agricultural tractor can run between $75,000 and $250,000 – and that’s for a used tractor. You’ll need to decide on your crop, purchase seed, fertilizer, weed control and pest control products, and if you decide to grow animals instead of plants, plan on veterinary costs, along with buying the initial herd or flock, their food, housing, fencing and parasite control products. Then plan to work with no pay until you’ve harvested and sold what you’ve produced. The financials of family farming are not for the faint of heart.
I had the honor recently to speak at the Farm Bureau FUSION Conference and was so impressed by the people there. The conference center was packed with people who populate all manner of farms – high-end hay, oil seed crops, beekeepers, beef and dairy farmers, goatherders, and so many more. When they talked about their life as farmers, it was wonderful to watch their faces light up, and the pride they showed while helping me learn about their products and the different aspects of their daily lives gave me a new appreciation of the things that land in my shopping basket, kitchen, and belly.
One thing you may not know about farmers is the high suicide rate among their ranks. The stressors include money issues, the havoc the weather can play on crops and animals, changing government priorities and regulations, changing prices in the commodities market, along with the isolation that’s often felt by those living in rural areas. Medical care is not as available, there’s still stigma attached to seeking mental health services, and the type of people drawn to farming tend to be very self-sufficient, finding it hard to ask for help or advice. For these reasons, the Farm Bureau hired me to come in and share simple mental wellbeing tools their participants can use any time, in the privacy of their own mind, to cope with what could otherwise be overwhelming stressors. It was gratifying to hear them validate the eight tools we talked about for each other – my hope is that they’ll share those tools with other farmers who couldn’t be at the conference.
Do you ever feel stressed and out of control? You have access to these tools, too, via the Wellbeing Wisdom blog, podcast and weekly newsletter. I keep everything short, sweet, and easy to understand and implement. Need a little inspiration to help you sail through a stressful situation? Here you go…
- Irritated at your next-door neighbor, the dandelion farmer? There’s a Tiny Bite for that!
- Do you know what you love? There’s a Tiny Bite for that!
- Do you treat yourself like a dog? There’s a Tiny Bite for that!
For a lot of reasons, most of us could use some go-to tools to get through the stressful situations and stumbling blocks of life. Our focus here at the Center for Workplace Happiness is to dish those tools out in every way we can think of. The Wellbeing Wisdom Tiny Bites podcast is just one – the world’s second-shortest podcast comes out every day with food for thought and a plan of action in 90 seconds or less per episode. Subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website.
Next time you reach for a snack or a meal, stop and mentally thank the farmers who worked to put that food into your hand. See if you can make every day National Agriculture Day, too.
Wags, Sandy Weaver, Program Director, Center for Workplace Happiness
Author of Happy Vet Happy Pet, The Original MBA, and co-author of The Happiness Recipe and The 28-Day Thought Diet
PS... Want the perfect way to start each day? Check out the Mind, Body, Soul Sessions podcast – something for your whole self, for just $7 per month.
