With farmers across the country looking to get into the fields and put seeds in the ground, the weather has been less than cooperative. While we here in Ohio are definitely feeling the pain of the rain, others in the south and midwest have been even less fortunate. It serves as a harsh reminder that we must count our blessings, regardless of how awful the outlook seems to be. We must always be thinking of those out there whos struggles are greater than our own. With the massive flooding plaguing the agricultural industry, our thoughts and prayers are needed now more than ever. One of my favorite farmers prayers is written by J.M. Kenyon:
A Farmer's Prayer
Make sunrise early and the sunset wait;
make summer early and the winter late!
Allow the crops to sprout and thrive
and give me hope to man the drive.
Please let the raindrops fall at night
and keep the ground firm in daylight.
Make all my callouses a bit more tough
when times are hard and life gets rough.
Please, bless the plow that parts the furrow
and earth in which our hopes shall burrow.
Supply enough of sweat and blood
to drive on when bad luck should flood.
Dear Lord, I ask you bless the seeds
and spare them from the choke of weeds.
Help them arise from in the ground
and bear enough to go around.
But most of all...
Please keep my spirit in your palm
my will intact, my body strong,
my family close, my faith untaxed,
my heartbeats tight, my laughs relaxed!
God Bless,
Hannah
Maybe it's just because I'm hungry, but it food is on my brain today. And even more than that, the fact that people don't know where their food comes from. The other day, I ran into an obnoxious lady in the grocery store who was telling her son that he shouldn't eat eggs because they are dead baby chickens. Now, just imagine what will happen when that young man grows up and carries on his life with the notion that eggs are dead chicks! It's amazing what people will, and won't, believe about their food. You would think that something that is so vital in our lives is something that we'd actually want to learn about. 
Apparently I'm not the only one who sees the problem. The United States Department of Agriculture has an initiative called "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" that is a perfect example of a proactive approach to this problem. Such a great way to promote agricultural awareness! Check it out below. 
