Monday, December 19, 2016

Monday Motivation: Why I Farm Roadtrip Week 33

Eeek! Christmas is less than a week away, I start heading towards home in a couple days, and today marks the start of week 33 on the Why I Farm Roadtrip. I'm super pumped to spend the holidays with loved ones and eat some of my mom's awesome home cooking. Plus, I've collected some pretty awesome Christmas presents for my friends and family I can't wait to give. With all the sappy excitement going on this time of year, finding motivation to keep me focused this week is important. To keep me on track, I'm revisiting these three farmers' stories. As always, you can click on their photo or the caption to read more of their Why I Farm story.

Maine farmers: Pam Townsend (left) and Sue McCrum
"We’re very fortunate to be a multi-generational family farm that is able to farm together. We have two sons and three nephews that are part of the fifth generation carrying it on. We’re a big family. You just have to realize you have the same goals, you want to be a success, you want to have the best product you can, you want to keep everybody safe while they’re doing it, and you cannot do it alone. You have to work together. Pam has seen us go through the highs and lows. She’s been around nearly twenty years. It’s not always perfect, but in the long run, it’s faith, family and farming. It’s something we can all do together." - Sue McCrum, potato farmer in Mars Hill, Maine

Rhode Island: Wayne Salisbury
"For the most part, I enjoy it. It’s outdoors. I enjoy seeing the land produce and I enjoy being able to deliver quality products to customers that they don’t always get in the grocery store." - Wayne Salisbury of Salisbury Farm in Johnston, Rhode Island

Alaska farmer: Bryce Wrigley
"Why do I farm? I started farming because I liked driving tractors and combines. I mean that was it for me. It started out because I was just selfish. And now, it has morphed into doing something that is larger than ourselves and benefits as many people as we can. When we started raising "people food" and realized we had a good product that people liked and needed, there was a different level of satisfaction that comes from doing something for somebody and then hearing that they liked it, or it’s good for them, or it helped them out. I always used to tell people that I farm because I can’t stand not to. And that’s still true, but it’s coupled with that different sense of purpose than what I had before." -Bryce Wrigley of Alaska Flour Company in Delta Junction, Alaska

Each of these farmers' stories challenge me to keep the big picture in mind. Through the hustle and bustle of the season that can be so distracting, it's important to keep the larger goals in mind. Here's to working towards my bigger picture (honoring farmers) this week! Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas!

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