According to the American Farm Bureau, “Farm and ranch families comprise of just two percent of the U.S. population.” Two percent. That’s it. In the United States, there are approximately 2.2 million farms. Sure, that number may seem big, but with a population of about 320,000,000 people, there come a lot of misconceptions and stereotypes about farmers. Although there is an endless amount of stereotypes, ones that hit close to home for me are the stereotypes that are put on the American farmer and rancher. When people are asked to describe the “stereotypical farmer”, most people respond with dirty, old, have no life, generally males, ignorant, apathetic, dumb, and unable to do anything but farm, but how many farmers do you actually know? Very few people in the United States realize just how large of a role farmers and ranchers play in their everyday life. So, when some people say "Those dumb farmers don't even know what they're doing," "Ranchers don't even care about their animals," or "It doesn't take anyone or anything special to be a farmer," I think those people need to think twice about what exactly they are saying. If it wasn't for our farmers and ranchers, we would be starving, unclothed, low on fuel, and millions of acres of land would …show more content…
not be cared for in such an environmentally friendly manner. There are always things to do on my farm. There are fields to plant, animals to train and bath, feed to mix, hay to be brought in. On the farm, there is no such thing as a day off. Everyday was a routine: wake up, barn chores, go to school, sports practice or games, club meetings, come home, do homework, barn chores, eat dinner, go to bed, wake up, and repeat. Life of a teenage farmer is anything but easy, but as a student farmer, I was able to balance farm work, schoolwork, 4-H clubs, clubs I was involved in at school, and sports. One of the biggest agricultural organizations in the United States is 4-H. I was a highly active member of many 4-H clubs. Let me tell you a little about 4-H. There are over seven million youth participants in 4-H programs across the United States. There are many different ways to get involve in 4-H. There are leadership programs, cooking programs, shooting sports, fashion programs, agricultural programs, and many more, but right now I want to focus on the agricultural programs. 4-H’s agricultural programs focus on the future of our world’s agricultural leaders. Through this program, youth are required to take several classes in a course called Good Production Practices. In this course, young farmers learn: the use of an appropriate veterinarian/client/patient relationship (VCPR) as the basis for medication decision-making, how to establish and implement an efficient and effective health management plan, the use of antibiotics responsibly, how to properly store and administer animal health products, how to follow proper feed processing protocols, how to establish effective animal identification, medication records and withdrawal times, to practice good environmental stewardship, to maintain proper workplace safety, how to provide proper animal handling and care, and how to utilize tools for continuous improvement. Among these things taught, there is much more that is learned. I have been a member of the 4-H agricultural program for about six years. I have spent majority of my time raising show animals, mainly show hogs, but I also raise show cattle, goats, and chickens. I have taken the Good Production Course (GPP) and have learned a lot of valuable things about agriculture and farming. On top of my knowledge gained from the GPP classes, I have learned a lot more by living on a farm. Let me just say, farmers are anything but dumb. Our farmers plant, nurture, and harvest all of the crops that provide us with our daily nutrition including all of the small grains that are made into pasta, bread, flour, and even beer. Along with farmers, our nation's ranchers provide us with various meats and the highest quality beef in the world, along with important by-products including fats and acids that go into everything from our tires to paints; the pharmaceuticals that will help treat everything from diabetes to blood disorders to life-threatening burns; the leather for our furniture, clothing, and sporting goods; and the list goes on. It's obvious that science and technology have played a huge role in developing products that help humanity.
In an article published on "The Ohio State Extension" website entitled "Avoid the Common Stereotyping of Farmers," I found a list of skills that today's successful American farmer must possess, and having grown up on a farm, I find it to be completely true. "A farmer must possess skills in the following professions: welding, accounting, farm law, politician, wildlife officer, veterinarian, construction, finance, animal husbandry, corporate executive, marketing, entomologist, plant pathologist, good neighbor, plumber, electrician, research scientist and an eternal optimist, just to mention a few."
(clark.osu.edu) Another stereotype that I have heard is about how ranchers don't care about their animals. People should really think about that statement for a second. Ranchers work every day come rain or shine to keep their animals healthy, growing, and in the best possible condition. Ranchers make their yearly salary off from their animals, so they are going to do everything in their power to keep those animals healthy. Today, a full-grown beef cow is worth close to $1,700. A rancher's investment in their livestock is long-term, one where they anticipate raising a calf every year, for ten or more years, from that cow. “The only way they can make a living is by taking the best care of that livestock because first, it's the right thing to do, and second, it's their responsibility as a steward of the land and their livestock.” (Nancy Jo Bateman, Executive Director of the North Dakota Beef Commission) For me personally, this stereotype really hits hard. I spend countless hours with my animal, making sure they are at their best and live happy lives. Raising show animals requires ten times more animal dedication, love, and care. My show animals get baths every day, they get the best feed possible, and they have the best living conditions. If I did not care about my animals, I would not put in the countless hours taking classes learning how to better the production of my animal. I would not spend countless hours cleaning their pens and giving them baths. I would not put in a whole summers work producing straw for their bedding, hay for them to eat, and planting and harvesting corn, oats, and soybeans for their feed. Farming is not something you do because you have to, It is something you do because it is your passion. It's self-evident that in today's world, farmers and ranchers are some of the most well-educated, business-minded, environmentally astute, scientifically grounded men and women you will ever rely on daily to supply you with food, fiber, and fuel. Next time before making a stereotype about farmers, think about where your last meal came from or observe the beautiful farmlands and think about how much time, knowledge, and will power it took to make these things. Then think, could I do that?
Health habits formed in childhood are incredibly hard to break as they grow into adults, and an unhealthy child population equals an unhealthy adult population before too long. The farm bill’s specific catering to such a small number of crops cuts down on what readily available products there are to feed to the population, especially as the farm bill “…offers little, if any, support to the California farmers who produce nearly half of our nation’s fruits, nuts, and vegetables, despite the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s nutritional guidelines calling for a diet rich in all three” (Farm Bill Should Focus on Healthful Foods, 31). I agree that by ignoring these extremely important farms in the face of making money we are only hurting ourselves in the long run. Most of our population is not a wealthy one, and to remove healthy choices from our reach and yet still expect us to be a healthy, thriving class of people is not only impossible but also
In 1919, farmers from thirty states, including Missouri, saw a need. They gathered in Chicago and formed the American Farm Bureau Federation. In 1919, they had one goal, they wanted to speak for themselves with the help of their own national organization. Since 1919, Farm Bureau has operated by a philosophy that states: “analyze the problem of farmers and develop a plan of action for these problems” (Missouri). In the past 94 years, the A...
Growing up on a farm is not uncommon if you live in Western Kansas. As many know, however, it 's not
Corn soon became the crop of choice to Iowa farmers. They found that it was more resistant to disease than the other crops they were growing, such as barley, oats, wheat, and apples. With this newfound “wonder crop”, Iowans found that farming had become the ideal way of life. Working on the farm involved all of the members of the family, which brought them together and made them stronger through hardships and great opportunities.
Farmers everywhere in the United States during the late nineteenth century had valid reasons to complaint against the economy because the farmers were constantly being taken advantage of by the railroad companies and banks. All farmers faced similar problems and for one thing, farmers were starting to become a minority within the American society. In the late nineteenth century, industrialization was in the spotlight creating big businesses and capitals. The success of industrialization put agriculture and farmers on the down low, allowing the corporations to overtake the farmers. Since the government itself; such as the Republican Party was also pro-business during this time, they could have cared less about the farmers.
...struggling to earn any income at all and sometimes do not even get the opportunity to eat. Another issue that Raj Patel did not touch on is the lack of care consumers have for the farmers. It seems that consumers care about farmers about as much as the corporations do, which, in my opinion, is not a lot. When consumers only care about low prices and large corporations only care about making a profit, the farmers are left out to dry. Many consumers believe “food should be available at a bargain price, a belief that relies on labor exploitation and environmental exhaustion at multiple points along the commodity chain.” (Wright, 95) Corporations as well as consumers generally tend to be selfish and I think Raj Patel is afraid to mention this. If only these people cared a little bit more about each other I believe the hourglass of the food system will begin to even out.
This conversation actually took place during my first semester of college. However, being quite accustomed to the questions that I am frequently asked about the place I call home, this conversation somehow made me more upset than usual. This conversation made me realize just how blind society can be towards other groups in society. Different stereotypes are placed on groups for various reasons-race, sex, occupations, and geographical locations-just to name a few. The last of these four different classifications is the one that distinguishes me from most of society. Growing up in Appalachia has made me a minority (different from the rest of society), and also plagued me with many stereotypes. Everyone in society has heard the stereotypes. However, I would like to focus on the how's and why's of them. How they came to be. Why society does perceive...
At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate.
even to work on a farm, you need to have quite a lot of skill. The
The seemingly simple term “rancher” is commonly misinterpreted. The term rancher may bring to mind a guy riding a bucking bull or horse in a western movie or maybe a tough looking guy without much brains raising cattle on the prairie. Other people think of a farmer. Actual ranchers specifically raise cattle, while farmers raise crops, hogs, and poultry. Modern ranchers are hardworking men and women who live off the land raising cattle for consumers. Despite popular beliefs, it takes a lot of knowledge to raise cattle. American ranchers use business and technology skills to raise cattle. Even with these skills, they are still at the mercy of Mother Nature and gamble with her every year.
“The farm implement industry has profoundly shaped both American agriculture and the national economy. Of all farm implements, the tractor has had the greatest impact on rural life” (Robert C. Williams, qtd. in Olmstead).
The first premise is known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO). These are operations concentrate to meet the demand of low cost high quantity amounts of food. For years, farms were thought of as the farmer that woke before the sun to tend to the livestock and the children would work the farm after school. This is no longer the case, these small-scale farms fight to complete with the larger industrial factory farms that have the capability to meet the economic and agricultural demand. CAFOs are becoming a battleground in the war over food and the environment in the United States. (Kolbe, 2013) The center of this war is Iowa with its rural population and interest in the agricultural industry. There is increasing concern over these operations from their surrounding areas.
Farmers are essentially the back-bone of the entire food system. Large-scale family farms account for 10% of all farms, but 75% of overall food production, (CSS statistics). Without farmers, there would be no food for us to consume. Big business picked up on this right away and began to control the farmers profits and products. When farmers buy their land, they take out a loan in order to pay for their land and farm house and for the livestock, crops, and machinery that are involved in the farming process. Today, the loans are paid off through contracts with big business corporations. Since big business has such a hold over the farmers, they take advantage of this and capitalize on their crops, commodities, and profits. Farmers are life-long slaves to these b...
...nnected to nature and have the responsibility of providing the world food, clothing, and a great deal of other things as well. Through it all farmers are a tight-knit group of men and women who have a mutual respect of nature and each other regardless of what type of farming they choose.
Agriculture has always been one of the pillars that our nation’s economy depends upon. As this industry grows and expands agriculture is not just farming. There’s so many different occupations that are involved with the industry that aren’t out in the fields produces food and fiber. With such an evolving industry, education is key to make sure everyone is up to speed with the newest knowledge and technology. Agricultural education, plays a huge role in educating the people within the industry along with people that benefit from it.