Family Farm Friday #46: Farm Colored Glasses

"My father asserted that there was no better place to bring up a family than in a rural environment.... There's something about getting up at 5 a.m., feeding the stock and chickens, and milking a couple of cows before breakfast that gives you a lifelong respect for the price of butter and eggs." ~Bill Vaughan

You might remember my blog from a couple of weeks ago about my first 4-H speech, which described what it was like to grow up as a 9 year old kid on a family farm. Well one of my readers commented with a great question. She said that she was curious how my love of agriculture played into my practice of law. (Sidenote....this is why you should comment with questions, because I will answer those babies!)

I thought this was a great question, and after thinking about it, I figured out my answer. My love of agriculture plays into EVERYTHING that I do, the practice of law included. I see the world through farm colored glasses.
I read a quote once that said, "You raise your kids on a farm, and they look at things differently." I think that guy hit it right on the head. Growing up on a family farm and being involved in agriculture completely impacts the way that a person looks at the world. I am not sure if any other lifestyle has such an impact on a person, particularly a child. I've discussed ag kids before here and here and here. How many other kids do you know who are passionate and involved in their parents' careers?
By way of a quick example, Little Brother won showmanship at the State Fair one year, and in the contest he was asked a question about the biggest threat facing the US sheep industry. The judge didn't know what he was in for when he asked Little Brother that question.....what he got was a 5 minute lecture about imports and markets and marketing our product effectively. Afterwards, someone said, "Little Brother must have given a speech on that to have know that answer off the top of his head." My Dad responded, "That didn't come from a speech. Hell he's lived it his whole life." In our family, farming was something we were all involved in, and that included discussing problems, making decisions, and understanding the industry.

For ag kids, agriculture is not just their parents' job, but it is their whole family's way of life. They are connected to it in a way that is just special. That translates to knowing a lot about the industry and to seeing the world through farm colored glasses. (In the picture below, Little Brother and I are docking a baby lamb's tail in case you can't figure out what is going on!)

And when ag kids grow up, nothing changes. I remember being in law school and a lot of times I would have a different perspective or opinion on a case, because I saw it through farm colored glasses. I distinctly remember reading eminent domain cases (this is where the government can come in and take private land for a public purpose so long as they pay just compensation to the private land owner) and being really, really disturbed. Lots of other students commented that these people could just go and buy new property with the money they got from the government. I was beside myself trying to explain to people that they didn't understand. If you have a family farm, one that has been in your family for generations like ours (remember this post), you can't just go buy a new one to replace it. It's more than the fact that you own land, it's the fact that you own YOUR FAMILY'S land--the land where your parents and grandparents and great grandparents worked and sweat and prepared to leave a legacy. I saw this case differently--through farm colored glasses.
Plenty of other parts of my life are seen through these glasses. Growing up on a farm impacts the way I shop at the grocery store (how I look at cuts of meat, etc.), my memories of the State Fair (you read about that here), the way I deal with traffic (I never honk or pitch a fit at a slow moving tractor or grain truck on the highway...I've been that guy!), the way I relate to songs on the radio (you've read one or two blogs on this topic as well)....the list could go on and on.

The bottom line is that agriculture is so much a part of who I am, I truly believe that it plays into every part of my life. I'm proud to have been raised to see the world through farm colored glasses. I hope one day my kids can wear a pair of their own.