Country Living and the American Farmer
Other than prostitution and a handful of others, there are few professions that have been around as long as farming.
In many ways I think that Country Style living started from farming. I know it did for me, I wanted to look at farming, which I think is one profession that is not thought about a lot. To say Thank you to all the farmer's past, present & future.
People have been farming since the beginning of time, Planting their seed, cultivating the fields, and harvesting crops, in order to feed their families and make a small amount of money to be able to get just the bare necessities out of life.
In the 18th Century farming was done using a horse or Oxen driven wooden plow. Most work done on the farm was all done by hand. All this included planting, sowing, and chopping the weeds that came along. Hay and grain cutting was done by hand as well with a sickle. Days started before the sun ever even came up and only ended after many long hours and back braking work. To break this down it took 250-300 hours to produce 100 bushels of wheat, which was only about 5 acres.
In 1837 John Deere and Leonard Andrus started manufacturing the steel plow. Farm life became somewhat easier, but not by a lot. There was still lots of work to do. Plowing the fields, mending the fences, milking the cows, There was always work that needed to be done when you lived on a farm. Even in 1850 it still took 75-90 hours to produce 100 bushels of corn, which was around 2.5 acres.
Over the years farming became easier. They had tractors to plow their field and plant their crops, yes, and even harvest their crops which would go to market so they could earn a fair wage. Things may have improved when it came to farming, however, a farmer, could still find work that always needed to be done.
As a farmer's wife a number of years ago, I do recall those long hours even then, when one might think farming was easy, and it was easy compared to a few hundred years ago. It is an endless job. I recall those endless hours so clearly, of plowing the fields, getting up in the middle of the night cause you were watering cotton and you knew you had to move your pipes. If not, you could very well flood out your neighbor.
I know the hard work it takes to farm and do what you can in the best way you can to take care of your family. How your body aches, but you keep moving forward, the rough and calloused hands that never seem to heal properly.
Add in the fact that Trumps trade war with China will affect the American farmer. How many will be able to survive, how many have we already lost already?
The American farmer is one of the hardest working professions there is. One that in many cases is passed down from generation to generation. One that maybe one of the most forgotten.
Recent Comments
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Thank you for sharing Pamela, farming has come along way since those early days, it is still a hard-working professional, and like you say in many cases intergenerational, it is a way of life and a wonderful way to raise a family.
Really enjoyed reading your post.
Thank you