Christopher A Strickland Photography
A Solitary Life
Being a farmer is a hard life. It is physically hard, dirty, often dangerous work from sunrise to sunset, and often even late into the night. You are pitted in a difficult and sometimes desperate struggle against the weather, pests, disease, predators, thieves, poachers, well-meaning but annoying trespassers, the government, inflation, recession, and other competing farmers. It is a solitary life, involving total commitment for very little pay in the end, yet people have been doing it for thousands of years...why? Ask a farmer and you may get different reasons like " my family has always been farming"; but down at the heart of it is a love of the land, working in the fresh air with animals and good tilled earth, the pride of doing something yourself that very few are able or willing to do, the satisfaction of working with your hands and knowing that your work nurtures life. Farmers know the cycle of life and death, they see it and take part in it every day. Farmers are family people, they raise families and work hands-on with them all year round, passing on what they know to their children while they are working together. Still, growing up on a farm is not easy and involves a lot of graft and a work ethic. Children learn responsibility at an early age. Young farmers are mostly male, and they often struggle to find a wife to share their life with...partly because of the amount of work and hassle involved, and partly because of the rural and secluded lifestyle. It is a problem. Without a helpmate, a special someone to keep them company and make their lives keep them going, farming is not only a solitary life...but downright lonely. Discouraged and frustrated, many young farmers give up and go to work in the cities or towns at other jobs....and find their mates through social outlets there number of potential future farmers decreases while the existing farmers keep getting older until they cannot do it anymore and retire. Farmers are the unseen backbone of the countryside and rural life in every country where farming is practiced. Responsible farmers are not just "the salt of the earth"...they are the keepers of it. When the farmers go....farming goes.... food production will dwindle and the imbalance will do irreparable harm to the worlds economy and stability. It is certain we will see food prices increase dramatically around the globe within the next 10 years, and it is also almost certain that food shortages will occur and many will suffer. Farmers and farming are more than a profession, they are a vital lifeline that keeps the nations of the world alive.
A Solitary Life
Being a farmer is a hard life. It is physically hard, dirty, often dangerous work from sunrise to sunset, and often even late into the night. You are pitted in a difficult and sometimes desperate struggle against the weather, pests, disease, predators, thieves, poachers, well-meaning but annoying trespassers, the government, inflation, recession, and other competing farmers. It is a solitary life, involving total commitment for very little pay in the end, yet people have been doing it for thousands of years...why? Ask a farmer and you may get different reasons like " my family has always been farming"; but down at the heart of it is a love of the land, working in the fresh air with animals and good tilled earth, the pride of doing something yourself that very few are able or willing to do, the satisfaction of working with your hands and knowing that your work nurtures life. Farmers know the cycle of life and death, they see it and take part in it every day. Farmers are family people, they raise families and work hands-on with them all year round, passing on what they know to their children while they are working together. Still, growing up on a farm is not easy and involves a lot of graft and a work ethic. Children learn responsibility at an early age. Young farmers are mostly male, and they often struggle to find a wife to share their life with...partly because of the amount of work and hassle involved, and partly because of the rural and secluded lifestyle. It is a problem. Without a helpmate, a special someone to keep them company and make their lives keep them going, farming is not only a solitary life...but downright lonely. Discouraged and frustrated, many young farmers give up and go to work in the cities or towns at other jobs....and find their mates through social outlets there number of potential future farmers decreases while the existing farmers keep getting older until they cannot do it anymore and retire. Farmers are the unseen backbone of the countryside and rural life in every country where farming is practiced. Responsible farmers are not just "the salt of the earth"...they are the keepers of it. When the farmers go....farming goes.... food production will dwindle and the imbalance will do irreparable harm to the worlds economy and stability. It is certain we will see food prices increase dramatically around the globe within the next 10 years, and it is also almost certain that food shortages will occur and many will suffer. Farmers and farming are more than a profession, they are a vital lifeline that keeps the nations of the world alive.