Old barn on the University of Illinois farm. Credit: Todd Ryburn / Flickr.com -- Creative Commons License

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Midwestern Gold Blog – Thanks, Farmers

Story Created: Nov 19, 2010 at 4:47 PM CDT

Story Updated: Dec 29, 2010 at 11:50 AM CDT

By Kelly Rivard

This post is about me personally thanking farmers. On the grander scheme, I can think of hundreds of agricultural products I should be thanking people for today. Food alone, I could thank endless amounts of people for a day’s worth. This post goes beyond the products I use, though. This post gets down to the nitty gritty of the things farmers give us that aren’t so tangible. I’ve learned a lot of lessons from farmers.

  1. Never, ever give up. Even when you’re on the brink, you hang tight. Usually, when you’re that far down, there’s no way to go but up, so just hang in there.

  2. Respect and love your neighbors, like any good Christian should. Even if you drastically disagree with them, they’re still entitled to the respect and compassion that we as humans are capable of giving.

  3. Life gives you lemons…make lemonade. And sometimes, share that lemonade with a friend.

  4. Everyone has off days, but friends are the people who accept you even on your most off-center occasions.

  5.  No one is perfect. Again, the true friends are the ones that see the imperfections and find a deeper connection because of it.

  6. Hard work, passion, and kindness are the ingredients for success.

  7. Sometimes, we all need time to slow down and take a break from reality. Shut down the computer, step away, and breathe.

Those are obviously not all of the lessons I’ve had to learn from the farmers and ranchers in my life; I couldn’t even begin to list all of them. These are just the ones that tend to stand out right now. They’re timely, and timeless.

So, thank you to the farmers and ranchers in my life. Thank you for being friends, mentors, adopted family, collaborators, and confidantes. Thank you for sharing your lessons with this displaced farm girl, so that she may someday pass them on to another generation of agvocates. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Thanks, Farmers

Giving Thanks

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