So… you may have noticed my lack of posting lately. Or not. At this point I’m not really sure how strong of a following there is out there for a writer like me.

But this morning as I was out working in the cold and wind I had a revelation. Well, mostly I got angry.

Last week I had posted on my facebook page a picture of my 4 year old son trying to lead an incredibly cute, but stubborn 2 day old jersey heifer calf we had named “Queen”.

Now I understand that everything I post on my blog and facebook page is public. And I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion which is fueled by their own perspective.

What I had trouble understanding was how someone could come to the conclusion and actually comment on this photo “Friend or food?”

Now read that again. “Friend or food?”

Really?!?!? Someone is actually questioning this in this picture?

Now, I was really pissed. And who was this person asking such a question? Turns out it was a friend of a friend. I had never heard of them.

So, after cooling off half the day I responded with “What a silly question.”  Diplomatic, right?

To which I was met with “Not if you are from a city like I am,” she replied.

Really? Because if you live in the city then when you see a little boy trying to lead a potential Kiddie Calf Show prospect, your first thought is “Friend or food?”

Now this is what I was warned about when I told my husband I would like to blog about what it’s like living on a dairy farm.

And this is the kind of thing I told him I thought I would be able to help people with… understanding our perspective.

So my reply to her was “They are all our friends on the farm” 🙂

To which she almost immediately deleted her comments and unliked my page.

Hmmm. So this is what people can be like?

In my opinion she just had made something out of nothing.

And the longer I think about it, I might be making something out of nothing, but I’m going to take this opportunity to invite anyone who eats on this planet to….

Get out of the city… because that is not where your food is from! Grocery store and food co-op shelves don’t just magically grow food!

FARMERS do!

So let me ask you a question….

How many of you could actually put your own food on your table if you had to? How many of you could produce enough food to feed you and your own family for one year?

I know my family doesn’t at this point… yes, as my husband puts it, we have our own meat, milk and eggs from our farm, but that’s not enough.

I still depend on other FARMERS for fresh produce, the wheat ground for my flour, and I could go on and on and on!

Right now we are enjoying watermelon. Can I grow a watermelon for my family to be ripe and ready to eat in April? Heck no, but I thank the FARMER that made it possible.

Dan and I went to the movie “McFarland” recently on date night. Do you know what I gained appreciation for in that movie? I’ll try to describe it.

In the poor town of McFarland, most of the high school kids, along with everyone one old enough in their families to be out in the fields, were “pickers”. Pickers are the people who actually harvest all of the produce grown in the fields or pick the fruit from the trees.

They are up before dawn to ride out to the fields to pick as much as possible before school starts and after school they return to the fields.

These people are hard workers.

The cross country coach joined them one morning so he could get an understanding of what it was like. He said it was one of the hardest days of work he had ever put in.

Our three girls were all up and helping with chores before going to school too. And when they came home at night they helped with the nightly chores also.

And do you know what my girls are known to be? Hard working. Just like the kids in the movie.

Now, does the lady who commented on my picture know me or my family?

No.

And do I think that anyone that knows my family or has actually visited our farm would ever make a comment like that? I doubt it.

But what I wish the most, is that people wouldn’t be so quick to judge.

Another movie that can give you a new appreciation is “Farmland” . And if that isn’t enough…

Go to where your city co-ops grow their produce. Visit the farms that you drive by. Go out to the fields.

Talk to the farmers who are proud of the job they do everyday. Sometimes pride is the only pay we get. We’d be happy to share our perspective.

Lastly… get your hands dirty! Lose a couple hours of sleep to actually put your own food on your table. Work alongside the FARMERS and pickers and truckdrivers and stockers who put your food on those grocery store shelves.

The headlines are screaming “Consumers want to know where their food comes from…”

It’s more than just the label on the package. Get out there and experience it.

And STOP judging.

Gain some respect for the FARMERS that feed your family.