Why We Do It

I hope Y'all are having a great Thanksgiving Weekend. I know I am.

I often get asked- why do you do it? If farming is that tough why not get out? Those are fair questions.

This year's Agriculturalist of the Year for Fresno County is Jon Marthedal. At his acceptance speech last week he told us of a plaque on his Dad's desk when he was a child. The plaque had the Farmer's Creed from Sperry New Holland. I'll post it below. The Farmer's Creed answers the question of why we do it as well as anyone I know. I wish I had written it.

A Farmer's 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 it’s hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honorable way a man can spend his days on this earth.


I believe that farming nurtures the close family ties that make life rich in ways that money can’t buy.


I believe my children are learning values that will last a lifetime and can be learned in no other way.


I believe farming provides education for life and that no other occupation teaches so much about birth, growth and maturity in such a variety of ways.


I believe many of the best things in life are indeed free: the splendor of a sunrise, the rapture of wide open spaces, the exhilarating sight of your land greening each spring.


I believe true happiness comes from watching your crops ripen in the field, your children grow tall in the sun, your whole family feel the pride that springs from their shared experience.


I believe that by my toil I am giving more to the world than I am taking from it, an honor that does not come to all men.


I believe my life will be measured ultimately by what I have done for my fellowman, and by this standard I fear no judgment.


I believe when a man grows old and sums up his days, he should be able to stand tall and feel pride in the life he’s lived.


I believe in farming because it makes all this possible.

- Sperry New Holland

I hope Y'all have a great week.

P