Already in this project, several themes have presented themselves.
The evolution of haying is an interesting topic.
So is the evolution of milking cows.
How do old barns become dinosaurs, standing unused?
If they continue to be used, how, and why?
The evolution of farming happens as humans respond to their environment.
That's simply all it is.
Here is an entire blog based on looking at how a certain group of humans have responded to their environment, and how that has changed the face of an industry that has the power to feed the world.
Perhaps the most significant choice any one human makes is their occupation.
By and large, children of farmers are more likely than children not born to a farm family, to become farmers. On-the-job training begins early! All children watch their and model their parents, and when you spend your early years with your parents in a barn... well.
You do what you see. It doesn't matter if you are born to a small farm, or a large one. Nearly all farms are family farms. The family at the helm is actively involved in every aspect. Whether young ones are hanging out with a grandparent, parent, or older sibling, they are sure to absorb some aspect of the farm.
Long ago, it was an automatic assumption that one of the children would take over the farm. Women were often expected to marry and move on. For the sons of a farm family, taking over the family farm was an option.
How do you make that decision?
If it's in your blood (and farming really does get in your blood - even if it isn't your occupation - you do hang on to pieces of it), it's an obvious choice. It may even be the only choice. We all know someone for whom, from birth, their path seemed obvious. Passion for farming is a necessity, and that has become increasingly true. As net profits have progressively sunk, and hours spent working remained steady and/or increased. If you don't love it, you won't last. Even for those that do love it, the economic strain can do serious damage to mental health and interpersonal relationships.
Sometimes the choice is made by environmental factors. Say one dairy farm family had two sons. Each son was given cows. One son's cows gave birth predominantly to females (which make milk, which is what this farm produced); the other son's cows gave birth predominantly to male calves. Males won't produce milk, and so are almost always sold. That son's herd didn't grow. He took it as a sign to choose another occupation. For the record, he was a gifted carpenter, and all was well.
As we progress through history, economics begin to factor in more heavily. This is a time and labor-intensive occupation, and the fact remains, even as dairy farms begin to invest in robotic milking facilities. The knowledge required to operate a farm is all-encompassing: animal health and nutrition, animal husbandry, food safety, horticulture, mechanics, accounting, and even human resources, to broadly name a few of the things one must function well with in order to successfully navigate the business. You can put in a 40-hour day managing the herd, and if you are in the growing or harvesting season, you may have a full night in the fields yet ahead of you. The fact that tractors have headlights could be seen as a blessing, or a curse.
If it is all of this for the farmer, consider for a minute what it is for the farm laborer. It isn't a new problem. As the farmer's budget grows thin, the ability to pay a fair wage for work incomparable to any other industry also declines. Good help becomes increasingly hard to find.
"I thought about it; but I could kind of see where things were going, and it didn't seem like a good choice."
Economic shifts, farms adapting or selling out, and the barns stand as bookmarks in the landscape of our times.
*********
This year we intend to make the first repairs to our century-old barn. If you would like to help with this, our fledgeling gofundme page is here for you to share or contribute to if you are so inclined.
No comments:
Post a Comment