...Calloused Hands, Dirty Boots & Cowboy Hats.

Hey y'all! I am so very excited for this post! It is my favorite one yet - all about these cowgirls, cowboys, and farmers! Enjoy...

My definition of a farmer - educated women and men who analyze data, test soil, monitor crop growth, adhere to regulations, calibrate farm equipment, write government policies, protect the environment, grow food and fiber in the most responsible and effective way, and continuously implement new and better practices in order to protect our natural resources and the environment. This definition of a farmer is drastically different from the definition a few decades ago.

The famous "Pitchfork Farming Painting" is no longer an effective or accurate representation of farmers and farming. We have changed drastically and continue to change daily. Fact is, agriculturalists continue to improve, evolve, and advance. Our job title no longer just consists of just growing crops and cultivating land. Our job is so much more than a pitchfork or even a piece of straw in our mouths.

A farmer is a steward of the land, an caregiver, an learner, an educator, an inventor, an advocate, and an environmentalist.

Picture an apple - in this case the apple represents the earth. If we cut the apple into fourths three of the pieces represent ocean water - 96.5 percent of the earth's water. The remaining fourth represents land. Half of this land is deserts, swamps, and mountain ranges. Now we take the remaining eighth and cut it into four more pieces. Of these four pieces three of them are too rocky, wet, steep, or cold to grow crops. We are now down to only 1/32 of the apple. Of this 1/32 we are going to remove the skin. This skin represents earth's top soil - the land available for farming. Of the remaining 3.5 percent of water only 1 percent is available for drinking water, mining, recreational activities, human use, and agriculture. This tiny percent of land and water is all we have to grow and produce food - for this generation and for thousands of years to come. These resources are what agriculturalists live to protect. Farmers actively plan and manage the most effective and smart way to farm the land. Whether it be through planning the correct sequence of crops to plant in a specific field or analyzing what certain nutrients the crop will add and take out of the soil farmers are aware of the needs of the land and the resources.

Modern agriculture has spent years improving techniques and technology to protect and enhance soils. In Arizona logging is used to thin forests - controlling the undergrowth and reducing fire risk. Cattlemen and women work closely with the the land to ensure overgrazing does not occur. In turn - cattle, when rotated correctly, control overgrowth, weeds and reseed native grasses. Modern farming practices include minimal tillage, crop rotation, zone fertilization, buffer strips and watering techniques that have been very successful in reducing erosion and negative impacts on the environment. Precision agriculture methods allow crops to be grown with less water, on less land, and using less of our world's natural resources than ever before. These advances continue to build and continue to evolve. All in all, allowing my opinion of agriculture to stand strong - agriculture is fantastic and agriculturalists are great people caring and protecting the land while growing and producing healthy and affordable food!

Whether it be a cotton farm, a cactus farm, a vineyard, a corn farm, a pumpkin farm, a alfalfa farm, or my personal favorite a cattle ranch we all are passionate, caring, and aware. Farmers farm in such a way that the land, the resources, and the water will be available and usable for generation upon generation to come. Agriculturalists are aware and coherent when it comes to the land, environment, and resource issues that we are facing in the world. I trust these people. I trust them to accurately and effectively manage, analyze, and protect.

Here's to the calloused hands, the dirty boots, the cowboy hats, the note books, the families, the individuals involved in agriculture. I thank them all for caring for the land, the animals, the natural resources, the water, and providing food for us all!!