Why I Love Agriculture

Why I Love Agriculture

By:  Liz Russell – Meridian FFA Advisor/West Ada Ag Teacher

I love agriculture because it teaches life lessons early.  Those lessons regarding the unjustness of nature, the pay off of perseverance, the redemption found in faith and hard work, the value of honesty, and the lasting impact of friendships formed through the lifestyle.

I love agriculture because it creates the strongest of family bonds in a way only shared daily joys and discomforts of agricultural life can.

I love agriculture because it gives the troubled heart and mind fulfilling tasks at hand outside in God’s creation.  A good night’s sleep is sure to follow a day spent using both the mind and body.

I love agriculture because it maintains that which parts of this world are physically starving for, and that which most of this world is spiritually starving for.

I love agriculture because of its unique ability to combine progress and tradition – two ideals that naturally and typically clash.

I love agriculture because it gives credit to those most deserving in life but least valued by the world.

I love agriculture because it creates opportunity for the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness – requiring only work ethic and try.

I love agriculture for the inspiration it gave an Iowa-raised farm boy to homestead in Rupert, Idaho and raise a farm family while growing potatoes, sugar beets, and malt barley.

I love agriculture for the deep love of growing crops and milking cows it instilled in four generations of dairy farmers in the Emmett, Idaho area.

I love agriculture for the common ground it provided for my parents to marry and give my four siblings and me an agricultural upbringing.

I’ve seen agriculture unite thousands of students from different backgrounds with a common curiosity and interest under a common cause and passion.

I’ve seen agriculture keep people alive for years who should have died in months.  When the world is relying on you for their daily needs, you get out of bed.

I’ve seen agriculture give young people a solid moral base from which to grow and to one day return.

I love agriculture because it offers the very best in life:  hard work in exchange for an honest living, the chance to gain all kinds of education, and the opportunity to develop true character and integrity.