The American Farm

4/19/2019

I found a new show on the History channel. And, you all are thinking - of course I did. It's one of the things I do best.

The show documents the life of farmers in several different parts of the country. The farmers battle drought, run-away cows, too much rain, or not enough of it. Such, is the life of a farmer. I think, when we go to the grocery store, that we forget that family-run farms are still out there. These small farms, along with the mega forms, has made it possible for us to go to the grocery store and buy such things as chicken, beef, milk, eggs, etc. Picking up these items and more at the grocery store is no big deal to us. For the most part, few of us, including myself, gives a thought about how these products end up in a store.

My Grandmother and Grandfather had a farm, the name of which I have forgotten. It was, by today's standards, a small farm. My Grandparents grew corn, as well as other products, but I was young, and don't remember. In front of the growing corn, my Grandmother's corn, she planted cornflowers, mega cornflowers - they were beautiful.

When we visited the farm, which wasn't as often as I would have liked, my brother and I made a bee line to the brooder house, filled with chickens. Of course, the baby chicks were so much fun to pick up and stroke their baby fur. The grown chickens had no appeal to us.There was a chore for use, which was smelly and horrible. We had to use our hands to scoop out the poo, etc., from either water or perhaps something else, and sling it to the ground. I truly hated this chore. It made my hands stinky, and I was after all a girly girl! But I survived, and washing with soap took care of the smell!

Grandma, also raised turkeys. She kept the turkeys far away from the chickens. And, in case you are wondering, turkeys are stupid. How do I know this? Grandma had my brother and I go down to where the turkeys were, and with a short hose, chase them off the top of their cover (I guess you could call it that). The turkeys would literally remain on the hot stainless steel even though they're feet were burning.

Okay, armed with our hoses, my brother and I went down to the turkey pen, Mission: get the turkeys off of the metal roof where they would stand until their feet became burned.  We were supposed to shoo them off of the roof. What Grandma failed to tell us, is that when turkeys are on the ground, they have a large wing span. On more than one occasion, my brother and I were "gifted" with manure. Ick. Grandma always told us that when it was time to eat a turkey, go for the hens, not the toms. This I still remember. 

There was a flower garden in front of the house, and I spent much of my time, wandering through the garden, talking to myself. 

When it was time to go home, Grandma always made us a batch of black walnut cookies, which by the way, really hold up in milk or coffee. Trouble was, the cookies were so good, that having a daily ration, didn't suit me or my brother. 

I have such pleasant memories of vacationing on Grandma's farm. She eventually sold of our livestock and moved to town. I loved having her house just a few houses away from ours. On my way to high school, I stopped at Grandma's house to chat. And if it had been movie night, I would eat the cold, greasy popcorn. Oh, and listen to the radio from Chicago which played the popular songs at that time. Everybody, should have a Grandmother like that. Unconditional love as well as a box of Chiclets in her purse! I loved her so much.

When you go to the store this week, and you buy produce or dairy products, give a pause to remember the small farms. I googled, of course I did, and here's what I found: 88 of American farms are classified as “small” by the USDA. You’d be forgiven for thinking “small” refers to acreage, but it actually means that the farm’s annual gross revenue does not exceed $350,,000. Forty-one percent of small farms turn a profit each year. Excluding organic farms, most small farms approximately farm about 444 acres. Obviously, as a child, I was unaware, unless I was eavesdropping on conversations, how many times Grandma had to get a loan. I believe (and I may be wrong), that a lot of farmers need to take out loans to carry them through the bad years.

Likely, the produce and dairy products in the stores, didn't come from a small farm. They came from factory farms. This is a market that small farm can't begin to compete against. The numbers of factory farms is: 99% chicken, 85% pigs and 78% cattle. Impressive numbers to be sure.

P