Ag Lit Bit " Voice of a Farmer's Daughter"
As I glanced through my Facebook posts, I came upon this piece posted by my sister-in-law and knew I wanted to share it with you. While I am not a farmer’s daughter, I felt her experience after reading the post.
“Just sitting here today enjoying the sounds of spring. It’s moments like these that I appreciate being a bit in the country. I can close my eyes and it’s as if I’m sitting in Lawghton and Isa’s yard listening to the birds singing, waiting to go with Mamaw. She, in the meantime, is preparing to take lunch to dad out in the field. The blue crock pitcher is filled with iced tea. The plate full of green beans, fried chicken mashed potatoes and cornbread is wrapped in a t-towel (which Dad later used as a napkin) and placed in the picnic basket that now sits behind me on my table. And don’t forget the blackberry cobbler that Dad can’t wait to sink his teeth into!
We deliver his lunch (yes, that was lunch - working men like dad needed a lot of good food) and sit with him while he eats. He talks about how the tractor is running, or what obstacles have caused him angst this morning.
Or we just sit while dad eats, sharing the beautiful day. He finishes, gives thanks for the wonderful sustenance she has provided, climbs back up on the John Deere and fires it up. We watch as he heads back to where he stopped, either plowing, or disking or planting.
We gather up the dishes and head back to the house. All the while I’m just thinking about how hot my dad must be and how hard he works. But he loved it. He might moan from time to time but never truly complained. I think there is a difference, don’t you? What a hard-working man my father was. What a lucky girl I am to have had my family and these memories that crop up on a beautiful day like today.”
While this took place many years ago, the same memories are being made today at family farms everywhere, even with many roles reversed as more females are entering the farm and are the ones behind that planter or combine. This spring brought much stress to our farmers. They don’t want to complain they just want to do their job just as they have in the past. I can’t wait to introduce my teachers to farmers during the Summer Ag Academy so they can see and hear some of the challenges the farmers are facing. I know they’ll return home with a new appreciation for the work they do for all of us and will share the knowledge they gained with their students in the fall. I’ll share their thoughts next month with you.