CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 11/24/02

Farmers allow us all to choose

By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia

If you're a "Baby Boomer" or younger, you weren't around in the "old days" when people's lives were structured around putting food on the table.

But my father was.

Even though his father had a small general store in mountains of north Georgia, if they were going to have food on the table, they still had to raise it or grow it.

My father always enjoyed telling the story of the day my grandfather called on Mr. Ewing to slaughter their hog. Mr. Ewing might not have enjoyed telling the story as much as my dad did.

Mr. Ewing and the hog

The hog was kept in a slightly slanting-floored pen with a sloping tin roof. Mr. Ewing carefully centered the sights of his 22-caliber rifle on the center of the hog's forehead to kill it quickly.

And he fired.

But the bullet ricocheted off the hog's head, hit the sloping metal roof, ricocheted off it, and hit Mr. Ewing in the center of his forehead, knocking him to the ground!

The hog wasn't bothered very much, but Mr. Ewing wound up with a very big knot on his head.

Hey, it wasn't you

Now just think for a moment. If it weren't for our farmers, just about all of us would have stories to tell our kids about hog killing and having to work in the fields. And we might be telling them that when we weren't working in the fields, we were preparing the next meal or preserving food for the winter.

As modern technology changed agriculture, farmers became more efficient. A hundred years ago, one farmer could feed only five other people. So folks had to grow their own food. That's the reason my grandfather did.

Today's farmer feeds about 128 people. That allows the rest of us to choose the lifestyle we live without worrying about having to grow food to put on our table.

We can be anything

We can be doctors and lawyers, teachers and ballplayers, factory workers and carpenters -- even county agents. We can be those things because our farmers feed us.

About 98 percent of us are liberated from working the soil, and that makes it easy to forget how dependent we are on our farmers for food.

It's important for every American to know how very lucky we are to have the best farmers in the world working hard to grow and deliver the best food in the world to us every day.

So this Thanksgiving Week, enjoy your food. And appreciate all those who made it possible: our farmers.

Mike Isbell is the Heard County extension coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Mike Isbell
A new UGA study found that children improved their diet quality when they ate school-prepared lunches. CAES News
UGA study shows all students benefit from healthy school lunches 04/24/24 Erica P. Techo
School lunches have come a long way from square pizza and fish sticks, and students across the board are benefiting from improved nutritional standards in the cafeteria. A new study from the University of Georgia found that children from all walks of life improved their diet quality when they ate school-prepared lunches following the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act nutritional guidelines instead of home-prepared lunches.
Jeffrey Dean (center), assistant provost and campus director for UGA-Griffin, with 2024 Classified Employee Award recipients Daniel Nordstrom (left) and Kenny Corley. (Photos by Ashley Biles) CAES News
Corley, Nordstrom named UGA-Griffin 2024 Classified Employees of the Year 04/23/24 Ashley N Biles
The University of Georgia Griffin campus recently named Kenny Corley and Daniel Nordstrom the 2024 Classified Employees of the Year. The designation was made at the 35th annual Employee Recognition Ceremony held April 3. The Employee of the Year award is presented to classified personnel who have made a significant impact on programs at UGA-Griffin through superior job knowledge and performance, work attitude, initiative, dependability and time management.
A Master Gardener with UGA Extension teaches a class at the GROWL Fulton County Demonstration and Teaching Garden. (Submitted photo) CAES News
Volunteers uplift statewide UGA Extension outreach programs 04/22/24 Sheri Dorn, Keri Gandy Hobbs
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension depends on thousands of volunteers who give generously to extend program impact and reach in support Extension missions. During Volunteer Appreciation Week April 21-28, UGA Extension celebrates the many volunteers who donate their time to facilitate 4-H, Master Gardener and Family and Consumer Sciences programming. Volunteers across Extension contributed over 324,200 hours in 2023, the equivalent of more than 155 full-time employees.
uga commencement CAES News
CAES to celebrate new graduates during May 9 convocation 04/18/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
As another academic year draws to a close, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is gearing up for its Athens campus convocation ceremony, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, at The Classic Center in Athens. “Each year, it’s an honor to celebrate the success of our CAES graduates,” said CAES Dean and Director Nick T. Place. “It’s amazing what these students accomplish during their time with us, and I’m always excited to commemorate this next step in their lives as they continue on to either further studies or the start of their careers.”
A student harvests red clover at UGArden. CAES News
UGA horticulture class shows students the science behind herbal remedies 04/16/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
The field of medicine is ever-changing, and the use of herbal medicines may play a bigger role in health care as the value of natural remedies gain recognition in the Western world. Students at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are delving into the field of medicinal remedies through the class “Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants.” Offered to undergraduate students through the Department of Horticulture, the class helps students develop a deeper understanding of the connection between nature and health.
Using robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms CAES News
Using robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms 04/15/24 David Mitchell
During the pandemic, labor problems became acute on many farms in Georgia and across the country. Farms once staffed by humans to bring produce from the field to stores for purchase were suddenly short-staffed, and the global supply chain was severely impacted. Working with UGA’s Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center and A&M Farms in Lyons, Georgia, a team of researchers led by School of Computing Professor Prashant Doshi is designing collaborative robots to mitigate some of these potential challenges.