THE SOUL OF A FARMER

   The very foundation of any society can be found at the bottom of its collective stomach. Napoleon said that an army marches on its stomach, well it’s even more basic than that, any civilization that can’t feed itself; dies. In the time before writing it is postulated that people were all hunter/gatherers, and farming came much later; maybe. The oldest bible stories (Cain and Able) showed an agrarian lifestyle almost from the start. One could theorize that any roving tribes that relied on bringing down game with pointed sticks, and eating wild herbs, simply preferred a nomadic lifestyle (or maybe they were just bad farmers, heh). We know that even the most primitive hunting tribes would light forests on fire, or burn off grasslands, in order to make game more abundant; that is at least a crude attempt to “husband” the land in order to make it produce more. That is not the gist of this article, however, I just wanted to lay the ground work that the “farmer” has been around a looooong time

I don’t want to go into the methods, techniques, history, etc of farming itself; there is a plethora of information (from the technical to the romantic) about such things. Rather this is about the soul of the people who don’t just “decide” to pick farming as a means to an end, but have the occupation baked into their very psyche. That is why I mentioned at the top just how long we’ve been “tending the land”, It is very possible that the soul of the farmer is built into the creation of man himself

 Now I must point out at this time  that just because someone owns livestock, or tills the land, it doesn’t necessarily make him a “farmer” in the sense that I’m talking about. There are many “agricultural technicians” out there today who could learn to wrangle a living from any complex business model, and when farming doesn’t pay?  Well these folks move on to another enterprise to earn a living. I’m talking about the operator of the small, mixed (plant and animal based), family farm. The operations manager of a giant mono-crop agribusiness does not apply here, and their end product is questionable too, I might add.

There is many an offspring of a “farmer” that takes over the farm from his parents, runs it for a few years, then (realizing the enormous capital to be gained by selling out) cashes out to invest in another venture that actually pays in money. Even in days of yore there were many a land baron that cared less about the running of a farm operation than wielding the power (and title) of a “land holder”. No, what I’m talking about is the people who have a visceral reaction to sticking their hand in freshly turned topsoil, feel springs of joy when a crop comes in, and treat their land like a little slice of paradise that God gave just to them. These are the true farmers, they may not even own the land, but they love it.

Now listening to the crowing of a rooster while shovelling cow poop may not be everyones idea of a perfect life, understandably so. Many people just love the bustling city and like to have clean footwear, nothing wrong with that.  But.  I believe that we should all take a moment to study the soul of the farmer, for in there we may find a treasure trove of good qualities to emulate, even if our feet never leave the pavement.

Manual Labour

   If there is any truism that covers the world over for the small farmer it’s the willingness to do menial, repetitive labour. Fill the shovel and put the contents somewhere else. Now, this does not necessarily require brute strength, just staying power.

On that note I will add that the first adversary to this work is not weakness of the body,but overcoming the tendencies of the mind. Since the work is repetitive, one would think that the mind could wander off and deliberate philosophy, or compose a sonnet; it never does. From the first forkful of manure thrown the mind calculates how many times you’ll have to do that (it’s usually wildly exaggerated). Then the mind asks all the “why” questions, the answers which are all obvious, and only tend to sap the will to continue. The final spasm of the brain then comes up with elaborate machinery, trap doors, and auto control systems that would eliminate the job, but also eliminate the farmer owning his farm; the bank would own the farm

 I think the lesson learned here is just the ability to not be lazy, because in life there is always manure to be pitched. It’s best to start early and get it done. Don’t work hard, just work steady.

Enterprising Ownership

   This one is hard to explain, yet it is the primary force within the soul of the farmer. This idea sets the farmer apart from the “enterprising wanderer”. The idea that one “puts down roots” and endeavours to make a slice of real estate better. The term better, in this case, means “able to sustain life”. Surprisingly this idea is under attack from all directions. The forces of collectivism (“you didn’t build that”) and environmentalism (“mankind is a virus on nature”) are chipping away at the idea of an individual “improving” the natural order. The idea of ownership and improvement is key to our very survival on this planet.

One can only imagine the forces that stirred in an early settlers heart as he unhitched his team from the wagon in the middle of an ocean of prairie grass, with only some survey pegs telling him he was “home”. When the homesteader’s plow turned over the sod he didn’t see the lifetime of brutal labour ahead of him, he saw the future, his offspring coaxing out crops one season at a time. The land was rich, but not as fertile as his dreams.

Sadly, these ideas are out of favour, even in the noble enterprise of farming. Most modern farms are, in reality, owned by banks, chemical companies, and agribusinesses; regardless of the name on the land deed. Is it any wonder that a monetary cynicism has crept into all  free enterprise when our previously rich soils are now just props for plants being fed borrowed money and petrochemicals?

The collectivist (communist) state farms of the 20th century also proved the stupidity of collective “scientific” farming. Both sides of the “left”/“right” political divide need to carefully study the root ideas found in the humble enterprise called “farming”.

I think the idea that the individual needs to take away is maybe it’s time to “put down roots” and draw that line in the sand, in whatever endeavour you put your hand to. Take some pride in the agency of your own life. In this modern society the people, as well as the agricultural animals, are being needled, chipped, and warehoused into unhealthy identity units.

Entering The Circle

   Any man, from the dawn of time forward, who takes pride in growing things, is aware of the circle of life. Everything that lives, dies. Everything that lives must be fed. When things die, they re-enter the circle to feed the living.

This is not some sort of quasi-religious mumbo’ jumbo; this is fact. The back-to-the-land hippies of the seventies copied the agricultural flow charts from 19th century agricultural manuals and touted it as a “new” idea. The concepts of “manuring” fields with dung and rotational grazing have been around since farming began. It is only the “modern” farmer, using the chemical energy of oil based fertilizers and fuels, that can choose to ignore this handed down farming wisdom.

This partition of life/death reality goes even further though. The majority of people on this planet are locked into concrete hives, the only living things are the weeds and insects that inhabit the cracks in the asphalt. Is it any wonder that the magic and wisdom of life’s cycles are lost? Birth, death, learning, enterprise, fun, etc. are all locked into separated institutions. It is no wonder that city folk’s brains become addled with a nihilistic linear thinking.

 Take your average vegan (please! Ha ha). The vegans are all self-righteous because they are convinced that, by only eating plant material, they are more “natural”, and “humane”, and tread softly on “the planet”. Not one of those folks has probably ever set foot in a soybean field, the only thing found alive there are the soybeans, and there is NOTHING natural about even the soybeans existence; the entire process is propped up by a robust oil industry.

The true farmer understands that his entire existence is dependent on that top 6 inches of soil, it must be fed and cared for just like his animals. The farmer is not acting on some high minded theory of the scientific “biome”, he goes by handed down wisdom and instinct. Healthy soil looks (and smells) “rich”, and every step, seed, and shovel full of manure takes him closer to that goal.

Yes, animals are raised for food, but while they are alive their dung feeds the soil. The farmer also knows that someday he will die, his body will provide the worms with food, and ultimately feed the soil; but while he’s alive he can eat bacon.

Individualistic community

   Every single farmer I’ve met has a strong “make do”/“can do” attitude. When something breaks, and it’s fixable (even withbaling wire) it gets fixed. The farmer has not the time nor the funds to call out to the “experts”, or run to town to solve every problem.

The farmer has to constantly call upon his own ingenuity to solve problems, whether it’s a broken tool or a broken heart. This leads to a “stuff happens”, rather than a “who’s to blame” attitude; this attitude carries into his whole thinking pattern. Each farm is its own entity, and the farmer its caregiver. Any individual who does not go by this code, and constantly blames or looks to others to solve every problem, is looked at as defective.

This is not to say that groups of farmers do not have a strong sense of community, it’s baked into the DNA. In the speech given by Lloyd Harvey “so God made a farmer” there is a line about the farmer who is bouncing through field ruts in 3rd gear trying to get his crop in ahead of the rain, and shuts down to help a neighbour when he sees smoke coming up from his farmyard.

A strong sense of community runs through these individuals even for non-emergencies. Many a farm community has built everything available (schools, hospitals, etc) with their own donated funding and labour; the “government” had little involvement. Beware of the government wolves who dress like sheep and spout the lingo of “community”, you’re being herded for slaughter, not shepherded to safety.

 It would be a good thing if everyone could copy the tendencies of the farmer, to wrap the brokenness in baling wire so as to work toward a goal; and be ready to share the wire and wrapping technique with other like minded individuals.

Faith, Vision, and Control

   A farmer must live in reality. From the time he opens his eyes in the early morning, till they close again at night, the farmer is fully aware of all the natural forces arrayed against his efforts. Weather, insects, disease, entropy, etc are all keen to knock over his efforts of food production. There is no one to blame, no final solutions, and no cavalry coming over the rise if he fails. His heart may be full of grief as he surveys a hundred acres of a bumper wheat crop, now flattened to the ground by hail as if run over by a demonic steam roller, but it will not break him. He will just conclude with a mutter; “these things happen, oh well, next year”. Sick animals, broken fences, floods, fires, worn machinery; the list is endless really.

Most city folks, if they worked in a company who’s entire system was designed to thwart their efforts, would throw up their hands in frustration and quit. Not the farmer, he trudges forward undaunted, his mind filled with the faith and vision of that herd, that crop, that future; the one only he can see. The farmer lives by seasons. Planting season, calving season, harvest season; and at the end of each season he tallies up the gains and losses and moves forward. So much of each season is out of his control, he is tossed on the waves of weather and fate, always trying to work with all of the natural forces; as much as is possible. Modern chemical sprays and crop insurances are sold on the idea of taking some of the risk out of the natural order, but their costs and designs come with a new set of problems.

 The farmer walks a tightrope of decision making all his waking hours, constantly accessing his limited resources, and deciding where they will go in order to bring about the vision. The farmer will never “succeed” the same as an artist, tycoon, or inventor.There will never be the “eureka” moment where he is made rich or famous, he will simply finish the season a little more ahead than usual; and the crop will come in.

The majority of the people in this industrial and information age are severed from the realities of the natural world. It is very much a conditioned existence. Physical comfort and ease leads to a mental (maybe even spiritual) hunger for reality to be “easy” and “nice”. When the infrastructure of this artificial existence begins to crack, and the nastiness of reality rears its head, the denizens of this artificial world are paralyzed with fear. The fear turns to anger, and someone or something must be to blame. New “isms” are touted, different philosophies are championed; all with the expressed promise to remove the consequences of ignoring reality. Many people, upon realizing that reality can’t be wished away, fall prey to despair.

Maybe the lesson we can learn from the soul of the farmer is to stop thinking we should somehow be immune from reality. One must learn to see each day a gift, each mouthful of food as a feast, every problem as a challenge, and learn to flow with the seasons of life. Learn to stop searching for life’s eureka brass ring, the one that will keep us from the uncertainties and vagaries of real life.

The Crop Comes In

    The era of the small mixed farm is almost finished, yet there are a breed of men out there who feel the call so strongly they are willing to work a job just to sustain a farm. Some would simply label it a “hobby”, if it is just a hobby it is a darned expensive and uncomfortable one. I would have to say it is more of a calling or a compulsion. The compulsion to force one’s life to the simpler realities, and join into the circle of existence, instead of making war with the natural law.

To make it as a modern full time farmer requires a huge capital investment, an investment that barely pays wages. As farms have gotten bigger, and the financial risk higher, a different attitude has taken over the vocation; a colder, industrial attitude to the land and its occupants. We spend less (based on % of income) on food than in any time in history, and the food quality is laughably low, yet the consumer demand for more/cheaper food rules. The constant push toward “economies of scale” and centralized processing have left us vulnerable to starvation in the event of a supply chain mishap, yet the call for more taxation, regulation, and control continues to destroy the small farm. Farming has been infected with the same philosophies and attitudes as the rest of the world.

Maybe what we need is an attitude change, before it’s too late. Maybe we need to study the soul of the farmer and adopt some of the wisdom inherent in the breed. Learn to look at life in simpler ways and enjoy simpler pleasures. Learn the disciplines and tenets of the farmer to ride through life’s setbacks and challenges. Learn to live with faith and vision. Plant the right seeds in the fertile soil of the soul and nurture them to maturity. Embrace the creation of God all around us, learn to live within the circle of reality. Maybe then, at the end of it all, you’ll bring the crop in.

-Ranger