Kids Say the Darndest Farm Things
How to Bridge the Gap With Those Without a Direct Connection to the Farm
Contributed by Paulsen
Helping to do chores at the cow/calf operation, a three-year-old donning his “farm boots” boldly noted the “daddy bulls” had all been fed, so it was time to feed the “mommy bulls.”
Riding in the combine with this grandpa, a little boy asked
where all of the “corn pods” were going and when they would start combing the
“bean kernels”?
Why Those Kids Say
the Darndest Farm Things
While kids on the farm and baby animals are just about the
cutest things around, these true stories they raise a red flag. The adult in
each of these scenarios followed these cute remarks with a real-life farm fact.
But what about the millions of youth, and adults, who have no one to provide
that first-hand farm information?
The Paulsen team has been specializing in moving rural
businesses forward for seven decades. And in that time, the number of Americans
involved in production agriculture has dwindled to less than two percent from
more than 40 percent.
In the span of three generations, diversity in agriculture has also changed. There was a time when every farm family raised chickens, hogs, corn, oats, soybeans, extensive gardens and milked cows. Moms baked their bread; kids helped churn butter; and everyone in the family got in on plucking and cleaning chickens.
National
Ag Day is an opportunity for us to remember how many of our American
neighbors may have these same comments about their food source. While most
adults wouldn’t assume “bread grows in a bag,” it is likely they think it
merely comes from the grocery store shelf.
We Can’t Go It Alone
in the Ag Industry
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, the agriculture industry experienced the disconnect between farms and grocery stores. It opened the door for continued conversation and in the agricultural community, motivation.
Production agriculture has become increasingly productive.
However, according to the American
Farm Bureau, farmers and ranchers receive only eight cents out of
every dollar spent on food (at home and dining out). The rest goes for costs
beyond the farm gate: wages and materials for production, processing,
marketing, transportation and distribution.
American agriculture must grow partnerships with the supply
chain to tell the story of where bread, meat, milk and eggs come from. The marketing
teams creating the packaging for the bread bag, meat wrapper, milk jug and egg
carton hold the keys to what those cute kiddos we highlighted and millions of
consumers young and old know about their food.
Simple Opportunities
Mean a Lot
If your corner of the agriculture industry is not connected
to a major restaurant chain and you’re not Facebook friends with the marketing
lead at a cereal manufacturer, you can still do your part.
It can be as simple as never passing up an opportunity to
talk to kids about where their food comes from. By the way,
●
Bread comes from wheat grown in a field. The wheat is
ground up and baked into bread.
●
Cows get ear tags to help tell them apart to track
their information and keep them healthy. But yes, an ear tag is pretty much an
earring for cows.
●
Mommies are called cows. Bulls are only daddies.
●
The tall yellow ones are ears of corn, and the short
ones are bean pods.
Visit with your local Rotary group about your role in
agriculture. Share your job experiences with a high school careers class. Bring
your nieces, nephews, cousins and friends out to your friend’s farm (and share,
share, share the photos and experiences on social media). Support a local
producer or give them a great Google review.
This Ag Day, we can all enjoy the cute things kids say about
farming, as long as we know those are our future consumers, and we have a
responsibility to share the story of agriculture.
