Never Been to a Farm

Allison said this was her 1st experience visiting a farm. We are finding a lot of people have never been to a farm. We are trying to wrap our minds around that one. Still others say they have no farm to which to return. As families have left the farm, urban sprawl, industrial development, or roads have erased the family farm from the landscape, but not from memory.

I find it amazing that so many people in today's society, which prides itself in knowing so much, have not had an experience of going to a farm. Being on a farm should be a part of our fundamental rights and a vital part of our education. Farms (especially those of the small family variety) are a very important part of our heritage. They are an essential part of our future as well.

A more recent model for farms has been the large industrial or "factory" model where soil is "mined". Regardless of their size, farms are a major source of food in contemporary society. That food along with what we grow sustains us. Should we not know where our food comes from? Do we care?

Those small farms are the ones which intrigue me. Small family farms are marvelous places where people see the dynamic interworkings of food, family, history, tradition, culture and nature. Such places have nurtured the spirit of wonder and imagination of children young and old. The breadth and depth of knowledge and the wisdom of the small farmer who manages a diversity of life forms is just amazing. I cannot even imagine a world where we as a society have overlooked the essential nature of this experience.