I am a member of an online group made up of women in agriculture who network and talk about life, both good and bad, on the farm.
The group is very diverse, reaching out to farmwomen from around the world, and I have really enjoyed reading the posts, and posting a few things myself.
I’ve watched a video of carrots being harvested, “chatted” with women who raises sheep and dairy cattle in Australia, learned about the wheat harvest, and even gave a little advice on raising bottle calves to a first-timer.
Recently, a young woman posted a question about dairy cattle. She wanted to know if she bought a dairy cow if she would have to milk it each and everyday, and if it would produce milk without having a calf. The ladies, without criticism, explained the whole “a heifer has to have a calf before she’s a cow process,” and that an Angus cow wasn’t an ideal dairy animal. They also explained the lactation cycle better than an animal science Ph.D. could.
The young woman said she was a little embarrassed to ask the question, but since she had no experience with cattle, she simply didn’t know and felt “ignorant” for asking. My response to her was that the only ignorant question was the one left unasked.
What if every single person who had a question about agriculture simply asked?
I think we would have most, if not all, of the misconceptions surrounding agriculture nipped in the bud.
I recently asked my social media buddies what they thought were some of the biggest misconceptions about agriculture and farming. Many of those who responded, which included friends who have never lived on a farm, said there continues to be a “gap” between production agriculture and consumers – and that gap continues to grow.
One friend said, in her opinion, the average American thinks farmers couldn’t “cut it” in the real world, so they turned to farming as a last resort.
“If people could see everything a farmer has to do, like doctor animals, figure out what cross will give the best yield, how to repair a piece of machinery, etc. … I’ve never farmed, or lived on a farm, however, I honestly believe farmers are unappreciated, and most of us couldn’t do a farmers job for a week,” my friend wrote.
A friend, who is an agriculture education instructor, said agriculture classes are looked at as an “easy A,” and some students don’t think the classes are “hard enough” to prepare them for college.
“The successful farmers have to possess knowledge to run a business, wisdom for proper management, and the grit to get it done,” she wrote. “Farmers from my generation have been encouraged to get a college degree to learn ways to become more productive and still provide a safe, reliable product.”
Others stated that farmers are thought of as uneducated and simple people, despite advances in agriculture technology that have increased production and made food safer.
The biggest concern voiced, and perhaps the biggest misconception of all, was that the public thinks farmers and ranchers simply don’t care.
There are a few bad apples in the sack that make us all look bad, and those are the ones that the anti-agriculture activists always seem to find and film abusing animals, but it is a misconception that we are all following the same practices.
I see the same videos and news stories, and they really upset me as well, but I know the people being filmed are the exception. I also know that many of these videos are faked or taken out of context, but they make the media rounds a lot more than the videos of the good guys.
In 2016, let’s all try to dispel some of the misconceptions surrounding our way of life. Show your non-farm friends and neighbors that we aren’t always what people think.
Julie
