The Farmer's Creed

The days have flown by 


Yes, I am still alive, and yes, I have turned into a bad blogger. I feel like May is flying by, and catching up just isn't happening. Last week was staff meetings, followed by a wedding in Pennsylvania, and then a trip home because my Grandpa passed away. It was his time, and it was good that it happened sooner than later as he suffered a stroke in March and wasn't recovering.

At his funeral this poem was read. It sums up the agriculture way of life.

A Farmer's Creed

I believe a man's greatest possession in his dignity and that no calling bestows this more abundantly than farming. 

I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person's character. 

I believe that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honorable way a man can spend his days on this Earth. 

I believe farming nurtures the close family ties that makes life rich in ways money can't buy.

I believe my children are learning values that will last a lifetime and can be learned no other way. 

I believe farming provides education for life and that no other occupation teaches so much about birth, growth and maturity in such a variety of ways. 

I believe many of the best things in life are indeed free: the splendor of a sunrise, the rapture of wide open spaces, the exhilarating sight of your and greening each sprint. 

I believe that true happiness comes from watching your crops ripen in the field, your children grow tall in the sun, your whole family feel the pride that springs from their shared experience.

I believe that by my toil I am giving more to the world than I am taking from it, an honor that does not come to all men.

I believe my life will be measured ultimately by what I have done for my fellow man, and by this standard I fear no judgement. I believe when a man grows old and sums up his days, he should be able to stand tall and feel pride in the life he's lives. 

I believe in farming because it makes this all possible.