I was moved when I read this small editorial on respect for farmers and value of agriculture (“Respect Farmers,” June 14).
I see farmers every day facing so many challenges, decisions, and striving to live a way of life for their families and in our community. Respect is certainly well deserved and serves as great encouragement to them reading this editorial in our local paper.
Not being a farmer myself, I wanted to better understand what it means to be a farmer. I would highly recommend reading the table picture book “American Farmer: The Heart of our Country.”
You can read personal stories and see on the faces the generational toil and daily work etched in the hands and faces of farmers and their families.
As one farmer said, “If you think farming is like going to work, you won’t make it, it is life itself.”
Better than the book, just talk to a farmer and compare their tradition, commitment, hardships, joys, and outlook on life in perspective to your own. Just remember to say a respectful thank you.
Dennis Muscato, Albany
