Farmer - The Lifelong Learner

Posted: 9/29/2015

Photo Credit: USDA NRCS South Dakota via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcs_south_dakota/

Farming is one of the oldest professions, and yet it is constantly changing. To keep up with all these advancements farmers are continually learning. Someone that has been farming their entire life is certainly doing things differently than 50 years ago. To me, a farmer is the embodiment of a lifelong learner.

 

Farmers work with land and animals more directly than any other type of business. This means they are committed to taking care of their land. To do this they are constantly learning new techniques. 

 

Just last week, my dad took three days off to go to a grasslands conference. Taking three days off the farm is a big deal at any time, but especially when we are closing in on harvest. However, going to this conference for my dad was important. At this conference he learned new strategies to graze his cattle, and take care of the land. He also learned how to tell how much feed is available in a certain field, how much should be left before pulling cattle off, and how to determine different varieties of plants and weeds.  All of this was done so that he is able to be the best steward possible of his land and animals.  

 

New techniques are always emerging to make farmers better able to care for their land and animals. Doing things like crop rotation, no-till, and leaving buffer zones, make the ground more productive now and keep it healthy for future generations. Anyone can be a lifelong learner, and most farmers are. 

Listen to this week's Farmer's Daughter here: FARMERS_DAUGHTER-SEPT_28TH.mp3