-- Author unknown

"A farmer is a paradox -- he is an overall executive with his home his office; a scientist using fertilizer attachments; a purchasing agent in an old straw hat; a personnel director with grease under his fingernails; a dietitian with a passion for alfalfa, aminos and antibiotics; a production expert with a surplus and a manager battling a price-cost squeeze. He manages more capital than most businessmen in town.

"He likes sunshine, good food, State Fairs, dinner at noon, auctions, his shirt collar unbuttoned and, above all, a good soaking rain in August.

"Farmers are found in fields -- plowing up, seeding down, rotating from, planting to, fertilizing with, spraying for, and harvesting. Wives help them, little boys follow them, the Agriculture Department confuses them, city relatives visit them, salesmen detain them and wait for them, weather can delay them, but it takes Heaven to stop them.

"A farmer is both Faith and Fatalist -- he must have faith to continually meet the challenges of his capacities amid an ever-present possibility that an Act of God (a late spring, an early frost, tornado, floods, drought) can bring his business to a standstill. You can reduce his acreage but you can't restrain his ambition.

"He is not much for droughts, ditches, throughways, experts, weeds, the eight-hour day, grasshoppers or helping with housework.

"Might as well put up with him -- he is your friend, your competitor, your customer, your source of food, fiber, and self-reliant young citizens to help replenish your cities. He is your countryman -- a denim-dressed, business-wise, fast-growing statesman of stature. And when he comes in at noon, having spent the energy of his hopes and dreams, he can be recharged anew with the magic words: 'The market's up.'"

I have this essay on my kitchen wall, where I can see it and walk by it everyday. It came printed in a farm frame, complete with pictures of corn, rolling fields, a cow and a pig. No author is listed on the printing, but a web search shows two different women's names on slightly different versions. I can't even remember where I got the printing, but I know I have had it ever since we moved into our current home, over 17 years ago. I imagine we have had it longer than that.

I do know that I couldn't have explained my husband (and two boys, and neighbors, etc.) any better -- and I am amazed how true it still is, even though I am sure it was written many years ago.

Some say agriculture has changed and in some ways they are right. Markets, land prices, livestock prices, modern technology and many other pressures have made an impact.

Many farmers work more acres than they did just 10 years ago. The difference is that instead of a young man or woman going out and finding their own farm, they are often finishing school and coming back to farm with someone else, either a relative or friend.

When a farm has to support two or more families, it has to have more income -- or bust.

Of course, many businesses have gotten bigger in the last 25 years. Most of the tractor, chemical and fertilizer companies -- even local machinery dealerships -- are now banding together to make larger companies. Mom and Pop corner grocery stores are almost a thing of the past.

Is it really surprising that the farms, which rely on those companies, have had to get bigger too?

But make no mistake; the family farm is still here, alive and well, in Saline County. And the family farmer will keep supporting the family businesses here, making sure our county is strong for years to come.

No, the farmer hasn't changed much.

"Hey, honey -- the market's up."

What a great smile!