Editorial / Opinions

I have been alive for 63 Christmases and can actually recall 59 of them. As you might imagine, with that many under my belt, I have enjoyed them under varied circumstances.

Christmas is upon us! For the Crawford Ranch, Christmas is a time of joyous celebrations with family, filled with lots of food and rejoicing.

Late in the summer, I finally succumbed to pressure from my wife, and agreed to meet with a surgeon concerning a health issue that has been bothering me for the past year.

Agriculture continues to come under fire from those who have no understanding about our industry, but the fight is nothing new. Our way of life has been questioned for decades by those who “think” they know about life on the farm.

Ten years ago this month, we became parents. We’d barely finished renovations on our farm house when it was time to bring our firstborn into the world. Just a few weeks earlier we’d learned our child was breech which meant a scheduled C-section delivery.

Late in the summer, I finally succumbed to pressure from my wife, and agreed to meet with a surgeon concerning a health issue that has been bothering me for the past year.

Agriculture continues to come under fire from those who have no understanding about our industry, but the fight is nothing new. Our way of life has been questioned for decades by those who “think” they know about life on the farm.

An old poker player once told me that, given the choice between being lucky or being good, he’d choose lucky every time. When I asked that same old poker player (who happened to be a pretty big farmer, as well) why he continued to farm well into his golden years, he stoically replied, “I love to gamble.”

I believe in the future of farming with a faith born not of words but of deeds – achievements won by the present and past generations of agriculturists; in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years.”

Fall colors are alive and well in Northwest Arkansas. I can look outside and see the majestic changes happening right before my very eyes. It’s such a short “season” in this part of the country, I feel like I have to savor every second of it. Soon we’ll all be freezing.