I was driving back to River Falls from my milking job one evening feeling quite irritated. A cow decided she wanted to have a dance party in her stall and kicked her sand bedding all over the place, most of which went down my shirt. I cranked up the radio in an attempt to forget the beach I was carrying in my clothes, and the dulcet tones of “Blessed” by Martina McBride (a fellow farm girl) floated into my car. A few lines into the song, I was struck by the song’s message. I realized that while farming is far from glamorous and cushy, it’s incredibly rewarding and fulfilling work and it’s given me opportunities I never dreamed I would attain.
Flashback to five years ago: I was just an awkward 15-year-old with a head full of dreams but no idea how to achieve them. I had just joined FFA the year prior, but hadn’t really gotten too active. It was through FFA that I saw my worth, began to see the possibilities that lay at my feet, and where I began my agvocacy career. Now here I am in college, blogging for Farm Bureau and about to start freelancing with The Country Today in Eau Claire. I have heard countless stories about how former wallflower types like me began to blossom once they joined 4-H and FFA, and how their dreams took flight. Without all the opportunities and challenges we’ve taken on, none of us would be where we are today. Agriculture, while very challenging and soul-exhausting work at times, is like the very land we till and the animals we raise; it takes all the faith, blood, sweat and tears we put in and gives us a bountiful harvest of hope and possibilities. It’s truly wonderful to watch our efforts multiply before our very eyes and even more magnificent to be able to reap the fruitful rewards of our labors.
When “Blessed” came to an end, I watched the harvest moon begin to rise and fill the increasingly bare fields with soft light. It reminded me of how opportunities and dreams give us a way out of the darkness, and how genuinely blessed we really are to be in an industry that is called the backbone of our nation. No other industry has that superb distinction. I drove on into the night counting my blessings, smiling about how soft my skin was going to be due to the exfoliating properties of sand bedding, and most of all LMAO: loving my agricultural opportunities.
Kay Olson-Martz says
Once again I enjoyed reading your writings. I have told you many times with farming you will enjoy new experiences each and every day on the farm. Enjoy them all and I will await to hear about each and every one.