Putting A Face on Agriculture

Ten years ago farm organizations were just beginning to encourage farmers to take to social media to tell the farming story. They wanted everyday farm people to talk to our neighbors and customers and put a face on farming.

Activists were certainly telling stories, half truths, untruths, and downright outrageous whoppers, trying to end modern agriculture as we know it. Folks figured that farmers had better get on board with that before they missed the whole darned train.

The Farm Side was seven years old by then, but its reach was and is mostly limited to local folks. This is a farming county so it probably tends toward preaching to the choir.

I thought I'd give blogging a try, maybe talk about farming with some new and different people and do my share to promote farming. 

The folks around this house are a pretty vociferous lot so it was also a chance to get a turn to talk.

That was ten years ago today. If you've been around for the whole ride, you have seen a small family dairy farm prosper, struggle, and fall.

Talk about a train wreck. Selling the cows sure felt like one.

You've seen it do a small scale phoenix act with the hay business and maybe even grab a little toehold on hope for a different but positive future.

I hope you have enjoyed it. I sure have.

It has been the most amazing trip that I could never have imagined, before I hopped on that agvocation train. I found friends from Colorado to California and from Canada to England. From Tennessee and Indiana and Florida and Texas. South Dakota, Minnesota, North Carolina and South, Oklahoma, Arizona and nearly every state you could name. East, West, North and South of here and places I had never heard of before this..

People whom I've never met and most likely never will are as close as talking over the back fence with a neighbor. They...you... have become very dear to my heart.

I've actually gotten to meet a couple of you and enjoyed that a great deal. I've lost a good friend and wondered how you mourn somebody you didn't really know, except that you did.

It's been great. Thanks for riding along. 

Today dozens of bright young farmers are doing a spectacular job of putting a face on farming and telling our story. I salute them for the connection they are making with people everywhere.

Meanwhile, I guess I'll keep on too, because, let's face it....this is fun.

Here is something I rarely share....the actual face that I have turned toward agriculture for the last few decades.

A little Throwback Thursday...
Guess I still look as stubborn as I did in Kindergarten 

And I still hate having my picture taken