farmfacts

            Hey Y’all! I must first apologize for my short hiatus. Things have been super crazy here on the farm. We’re trying to get everything ready for the quickly approaching winter and it seems like the list is never-ending. We hate winter. It is really hard on the animals and the equipment…and us.

            So, today I want to talk about something that’s a little off subject, but still applies to farming in a way. I had always heard people talking about the Bible and that it says that the rich will become richer and the poor will become poorer. Well, I had not found this passage myself, so I was just thinking that this was one of those things that people had interpreted and that it probably didn’t say those words exactly. However, I was wrong! We were in church a couple of Sundays ago and the gospel was from Matthew. It was that story that I had heard so much about that the priest began to read. I couldn’t believe it. How could greed be so overpowering that it was even in the Bible? I’m still thinking on the subject, but here is the passage from the Book of Matthew.

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing an additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

            ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I know that most people do not believe every word of the Bible. I know that the stories and parables are supposed to be teaching tools. I understand that these are lessons that we are to heed so that we can become better people. BUT, there it is in black and white. Do you really think that people who are poor have the ability to invest their money? I know we can’t spare a cent to put in a CD or the stock market. Even my savings account only earns ½% of interest. Honestly, I’m not making any money off of it.

            Now, the other point I want to make is that we work hard every day. Just today I fed my pigs, ground corn in the mill, fed the cows, helped fix the tractor tire, made dinner and supper, washed dishes and laundry, worked on my presentation for class, took care of the puppies, checked 2 ½ miles of fence, helped my husband put a new starter on the pickup, cleaned the grass off of the Brush Hog, fed the bulls, loaded sows that are about to pig and moved them to separate pens, fed hay, and I think that’s it. I’ve done so much that I can’t remember it all. And when I say I ground corn in the mill, that means I shoveled it out one shovelful at a time into the mill. Plus, when I say I fed the cows and pigs, that means I hauled 5-gallon buckets (somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 buckets) to them one at a time. I’m not talking about easy labor here. And to say that since I’m poor I’m going to become poorer, then I say we have probably the best work ethic of anyone I know. We work hard, don’t bother anyone, and really believe in what we do. We know that our job comes with demanding work and we enjoy doing it. However, don’t tell me that I’m going to become poorer because it’s people that work hard that should be rewarded for their effort. We (and you know if you work hard or not) should be the ones who are rich.

            This is just my opinion. Feel free to disagree with me. But, one last point I want to make is that the rich have corrupted our world. The greed that I see in people every day has caused the economy to go to pot. Life isn’t all about money, and you can’t take it with you so why do you need it so badly? You’re not a better person, you don’t impress me, and I think it’s the people who have less that are better people characteristically. They don’t strive to stab people in the back and they would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. I grew up with money. My father is a lawyer. I know how money changes people. They forget who their friends are and they conveniently overlook the fact that those were the people that made them who they are and got them where they are today. Money ruins people! It’s not worth it and I would rather be poor and a good person and a hard worker than be greedy and a person who walks all over others.

And FYI: For those of you who were waiting for the information about the CAFOs and how many there are in each state, I am still working on a understandable format to post it in. I have it done and just want to make sure that it will be easily read. If it’s not decipherable, it means nothing to you.

Hope you had a HAPPY EATING Thanksgiving!

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