By Lacie Armsrong
Defining A Farmer
A farmer is defined as “a person who cultivates land or crops or raises animals (such as livestock or fish)”. All farmers will tell you; this definition doesn’t cover even the “half” of what it means to be a farmer. We live in a society where word associations are watered down to meaninglessness.
In regard to anyone’s ancestry, you’re likely to find farmers down most branches. The average farmer possessed an extraordinary range of skills in order to keep tools and implements in good repair; livestock healthy and productive; family members clothed and cared for from birth to death; food planted, harvested, and stored.
How Women Define Being Called A “Famer”
Women who farm are even less likely to call themselves farmers. An article in Ag Women’s Network quotes “a number of women who put in long hours on the farm but don’t believe they qualify for the occupation”. Perhaps overusing the term “farmer” diminishes a status earned through grueling and often thankless labor. That term, however, hasn’t always been eagerly sought out. Other words associated with farmer include “hayseed,” “bumpkin,” “yokel,” “hick,” “peasant,” and “rube”.
Today’s Numbers
Farmers are struggling like never before due to the condition of our world. The most recent USDA numbers show more than half of today’s farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Typically, this isn’t by choice, but a necessity due to the financial burdens of buying land, covering health insurance, and acquiring necessary equipment.
Farming is a risky business based on the whims of banking institutions, increasingly erratic weather, and highly volatile market conditions. Farming, particularly for the youngest generation, is often impossible to live on as a full-time occupation due to the price of land.
A New Revolution For Farmers
Word choice is powerful when defining ourselves as farmers. Allow the words you choose to show how you put passion into action. People who farm, even if harvesting enough to feed only their families, are at the cutting edge of a new revolution. Daily experience helps them understand more directly the perfect intersection of water, soil, and sunlight necessary to create food. They’re more likely to support not only farmer’s markets but also candidates and policies that make sustainable agriculture more possible. They create wealth in deeper connections. They’re working the land they have, the best they know how. A wider circle acknowledges we’re making a better future, one passionate farmer at a time. In the twenty-first century, that’s the legacy we’ll keep cultivating wherever we grow. Farmers are heroes.
