Farmer Scholars

Farmers are the studyingest and meetingest people you could imagine. Far from the overalls, straw hat, and dangling stalk of timothy stereotype that is usually portrayed about them, they have to know a lot to do what they do. And they have to keep learning all the time. Farming changes as constantly as the weather, new rules, new plant diseases, new production methods are coming along all the time. To keep up with the industry farmers need to keep learning.....I have never met one who didn't subscribe to enough trade publications to cover the living room floor an inch deep every month and they go to meetings too.

There are meetings about growing corn, meetings about when to cut hay, meetings about nutrient management, meetings about every aspect of animal care, crop production, feed preservation and political meetings too. There are meetings about milk marketing, and meetings about regulations, and meetings to go to Albany or Washington to try to explain the realities of agriculture to city legislators.

Nearly all farmers that I know go to some meetings. Late fall, winter and very early spring are the times for meetings in this climate. Once the crop work starts forget about trying to drag even the most studious of farmers out of his fields. There is work to be done.

Tomorrow I am off to a meeting and will have a report for you when it is over. It will be a good one I think and I am lucky enough to be going with someone really cool. There are some great speakers scheduled and I hope to learn more about a subject that needs to be on the list of every farmer, pet owner, or person addicted to chewing and swallowing, as Mike Rowe says....animal welfare.