Family Farm Friday #2 - Returning to the Farm

"For them, the value of the land is the land, and the family that's a part of it." ~Beverley Corbell

As I was looking for articles, stories and issues for my family farm blog this week, I came across an article from a newspaper in West Texas. It titled "A fading way of life: West Texas ranches sturggle to stay float" and was written by Ramon Renteria from the El Paso Times.

In the article, he quoted Albert Miller, a texas rancher. Miller was quoted as saying, "The biggest threat to family ranches is the lack of a shared dream." Now, I know there are a lot of threats to family farms and ranches.....I won't argue with him there. However, I really disagree that the biggest threat we face is a younger generation who doesn't share the dreams of their parents, grandparents and beyond, to maintain the family ranch.
I think if you ask most kids who grew up on a farm or ranch, they would tell you that they thought it was the best way to grow up, and they will tell you they'd like to be able to raise their kids on a ranch as well. I think if you ask most kids who have lived and worked on a farm or ranch that has been in their family for generations, you'll find that a lot of these young people would fight to the death to keep that land in the family, and in production agriculture. I can show you two kids who most definitely feel that way about our family farm and ranch. Here are a few more examples I found on the internet.

http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/family-farming-has-deep-roots-for-mount-gilead-ohio-dairy/13912.html

http://www.marshallnews.com/story/1599745.html

http://www.startribune.com/slideshows/29979614.html?elr=KArksi7PhD_iLcCiUo7PhDiLcCiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr

http://agmarketing.extension.psu.edu/begfrmrs/OptStratSmlFrms/FarmSucStrat/GoingHome.pdf
http://www.barbersfarm.com/Barbers_Farm/Welcome.html

For farm and ranch families, the land is important for their legacy. I don't think they believe thta the land itself is their legacy, but I think that land allows for them to have the way of life that lets leave the kind of legacy they want. I remember before an extemporaneous speech contest, my ag teacher talking to me about potential topics. He said to me, "Agriculture is about a way of life. Don't you think your parents have the farm as much for the way it lets them raise you kids as anything else?" Yes, sir, Mr. Franklin. I do.
While it may be hard for kids to return home to the farm due to finances, production costs, trying to find jobs in small town America, I seriously dispute the idea that it's a lack of desire that prevents their return. If that's true, it's because those kids weren't raised right and didn't learn about the land, the family and the legacy that they are a part of.