Farmers Aren't 'Cute'
August 24, 2006
A recent Delta Farm Press article http://deltafarmpress.com/news/060823-farmers-costs/ appears
to suggest that farmers reinvent themselves in order to compete with 'cute.'
Mention is made of the "warm, fuzzy, photogenic," etc., things
that "endangered" species are, as though American farmers would be
more popular if only they could become 'cute.'
Do you perceive wolves, cougars, grizzlies, wolverines, snakes,
etcetera, to be "cute?" The "Endangered Species Act" and
its continued resuscitation, over a decade after it expired, does not limit
its "interpretation" to "cute" species, although the
"Center for Biological Diversity" seems to seek out the cutest NAMES
for allegedly "endangered" species when super-litigating. Not ALL
farmers are signed up for various and sundry "programs."
"Cute" does not describe farmers. Honest,
hardworking, brown of face and forearm, often slow to speak and only then
after thorough deliberation -- these are apt descriptions.
The largest John Deere dealership in North America makes its
home in my neighborhood, as does a farm equipment auction (with another set to
open just a dozen miles away), a stock trailer manufacturer, one of the top
five farm shows in America, and some dandy Amish restaurants. You won't be
able to sample the fare on Sundays; they are closed to observe the
Sabbath.
"Cute" does not describe the lines of sun-drying
homespun, often hung in order from largest to smallest. It does not fit the
ladies and girls with their hair neatly braided up and tucked under white
caps, hands busily quilting or doing other house chores.
"Cute" does not suit the palpable peace that
accompanies our bountiful crops, even now ripening and turning from green to
gold in the fields while the cicadas fill the air with their August song.
"Cute" is a word not found much in the vicinity of
farmers.
Unless, that is, you are talking about newborn kittens,
puppies, calves, lambs, or foals.
Julie Kay Smithson is at home in the Amish and Mennonite
farm country of rural Ohio.
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