I want our farming legacy to continue for future generations

For many folks, July is a month of re­laxing on vacations, family cookouts, and patriotic love for our great nation as we have just celebrated another In­dependence Day.

With all of the activities that surround us this time of year, it could be easy to forget the generations on the farm who came before us and the sacrifices they made to make our lives better.

In reflecting on the five generations of my family on our farm, knowing their history and how hard they worked to till the ground, grow a crop, raise and care for livestock, and feed themselves—and often their neighbors—gives me a sense of pride and determination. I want our farming legacy to continue for future generations, as most farm families do.

Every day when I step out my front door, looking over our farmland, I’m thankful for the opportunity to be here and do what I do. Granted, some growing sea­sons are better than others, but each season is a tribute to those who have paved the way for me.

Each crop is a testament to the farmers who worked the soil with a wooden plow and a team of horses or mules. Thanks to our state ag statistics office, I read that over three million acres of corn were planted by Kentucky farmers in 1926.

Can you imagine the labor hours it took to plant that much… way before any of the technology we use today on the farm was even dreamed about?

One main thing all farmers from the past and today have in common is, it’s their life’s work to live and make a living on the farm, no matter how hard it gets or the season they’re having.

They, too, have stepped out their fronts doors and looked over the land and felt the pride of knowing they are farmers. Their value to society—along with that of our service men and women and first responders—cannot be overstated.

Unfortunately, those of us on the farm can often be forgotten by those who don’t have a knowledge of where their food comes from or what it takes to produce it. As long as they see stocked shelves in the grocery stores, how it got there might never cross their minds.

It’s our job at Farm Bureau to constantly remind the people who eat the food we produce and make the laws that oversee our industry just what farming is about; what it takes to get from the soil to the supermarket; what challenges we face to stay on the farm on a daily basis.

Most of all, if they do a little genetic investigation into their own families, they will most likely discover a farmer somewhere in their heritage.

And when they do, I hope they gain a better under­standing of why the American farmer is so needed in this world and be thankful for all who have planted, grown, and harvested the crops we enjoy today, and for those who grew the crops that came before us.

My prayer is that each of you have a blessed and safe summer, and that you take a little time to be thankful for all the farm families who, over many generations, have made life possible in this great country.

Eddie Melton, President
Kentucky Farm Bureau