LIVING OUT MY FARMING DREAMS, ONE CHERRY AT A TIME

Is it strange that a city girl like me dreams of becoming a farmer one day? Growing vegetables and fruits in my backyard, collecting eggs from the chicken coop in the morning, chasing happy pigs around the barn, selling produce at the local farmer's market, etc - I want to do it all. 

One of my biggest passions is sustainable living, a lot of which relates to local agriculture. During college, one of my work-study involved was educating the campus community on how to establish and maintain a sustainable lifestyle. I built a worm compost and experienced how scraps could actually be turned into rich, nutritious soil, which was so exciting! 

A question that I still find difficult to answer is why farming doesn't garner the respect it deserves. Farmers are the backbone of our society, with the job of producing ingredients that we put into our bodies multiple times a day. But somehow, their profession is often something that we as a society don't appreciate. Instead of asking ourselves 'how can we grow the best produce?', we are often left with trying to answer 'how can we reduce cost, expand produce shelf-life, and remove the concept of seasonality and scarcity?' 

I do think that society is starting to realize the value of sustainable living. Grocery stores are labeling local, seasonal produce, organic produce is becoming less expensive, and wholesome, natural foods are more and more relevant. For now, I hope that everyone can make it out to the farmer's market one of these days and support local agriculture. I mean, look at how beautiful these cherries and strawberries are! How could you possibly say no?