I wanted to celebrate Ag Week. I looked at the family farms that are still in existence, in our county, and did celebrate them for keeping up the quality and standards expected of bona fide farmers. Farmers have always been known for sticking together and for willingness to help their fellow farm neighbor. Crops have been harvested and even barns have been raised for a fellow farmer who met with a disaster or illness.
Family farms have been the hub of our county. We have grown to expect good food and grain from these farmers who make sure they do all that is required to keep soil in top shape and animals in good health.
Why is the celebration less than it should be? Factory farms are trying to raise their ugly head in the guise of the farm of the future. Money speaks louder than reason when a family farmer decides to surrender to the propaganda of the large conglomerate owner. This family farmer changes the way he looks at all of us. His neighbors now become his enemies. There is no longer a sense of community. People turn against one another. The land is torn up for huge confinement buildings. Mega amounts of manure are dispensed with no regard to the environment or the neighbors. Creeks and lakes are polluted and disease is spread. There will be nothing for the future generations to celebrate when Ag Week rolls around, just a few years from now.
