Speaking of, what did you guys think of the "God created the farmer..." commercial last night?
First of all, I always liked Paul Harvey. The voiceover was from a speech he made at the National Future Farmers of America convention back in the '70's. Which interestingly enough is not the Future Farmers of America anymore, it's just the FFA, the letters don't stand for anything anymore, they have kind of phased the "farmer" out of FFA.
In my opinion? A bunch of feel-good sentimental crap. Farming is a business. Always has been. Always will be. Nothing more, nothing less. The only thing is these days you have to have pretty deep pockets to get started. And that probably isn't enough.
It has to be a business first and a way of life second. And like any business you do it because you can, you're good at it and you find it satisfying. No different than any other small business or many other careers. No one becomes small business owner or a policeman or fireman or machinist or enlists in the military because of the working conditions or the pay. But because they like the work and it gives them a sense of doing something important. No different than farming.
Except with farming there is no vacation, no sick days, no health insurance or no retirement benefits. You do however get to be at the mercy of the whims of politicians, governments and the financial system. And about the time you think you have it figured out they change the rules and tell you to just bend over and take it, because one way or another you are getting screwed.
And yet for some reason the idealized, sentimental myth of farming and agriculture remains. Which is not to say that farming does not offer rewards and challenges that are special and unique. It does.
I just think it is sort of ironic that we get this tribute to hard work and independence from a large corporation that exists solely because of government bailouts. But I guess it will sell a few pickups and in the end that is all that really matters.