A Farmer’s Creed

I have mentionned the latest book from Gary Hamel – What Matters Now before here and I would like to quote something he wrote about his in-laws. Mr Hamel’s wifes parents bought the Hamels a starter house and it was a great lesson for the newly married couple. The ability to help their daughter came from a life of good old fashioned hard work and strong character traits learned by them in their home, their church and their schools.

The Farmers Creed.

“I believe a man’s greatest possession is his dignity and that no calling bestows this more abundantly than farming. I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person’s character. I believe that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honorable way a man can spend his days on earth.”

That makes perfect sense to me but I also believe that is not a commonly held belief. The interesting fact is that the average age of an american farmer is in the high fifties with no clear prospect for that the go lower. It appears that the family farm has long since gone to the corporate farm and that these virtues of farming are going the way of the dodo bird. The time is now..