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Guest Blog: Why I Want to be a Farmer

Posted at 9:02 PM on June 8, 2008 by Donna McClurkan (13 Comments)

My name is Anna McClurkan. I just completed 5th grade. My mom helped me write this blog about a class assignment. We were asked to choose a career, research it and present the information to our class. I chose to be a farmer. Why? I thought this project was a great opportunity for me to get a little more involved in my family's eat local project.

We were required to interview someone with experience in our chosen career. I chose Dr. Carrie Young. She is a plant breeder in Kalamazoo. Plant breeders change the genetics of plants to improve their yield, shipping quality and more. The improved varieties are made available to farmers to help them produce better crops.

Farming is her secondary work. Dr. Young was inspired to become a farmer because she believes everyone should know how to grow their own food. If we know how to grow our own food, Americans will be more secure because we won't need to depend on other countries. She thinks it's fun, too! Here is a picture of Dr. Young showing me how to fill a plant sprayer from a water pump near her ½ acre garden.

I learned a lot from Dr. Young. For example, a problem many farmers encounter is that their income is considerably less than their expenses. She said more than half of U.S. farms are supported by one or both spouses working off farm. Most of the price we pay for groceries goes to the middle-man processor rather than the person that grew the food. We need to be more supportive of the farmers that grow our food. One way we can do that is to buy directly from local farmers. Another problem Dr. Young shared with me is the average American farmer is more than 50 years old. Who will grow our food when they retire?

Farmers need to be physically fit and flexible in order to climb ladders, drive tractors and kill pests, and they work long days - sometimes more than 12 hours. It's also helpful to know the Spanish language because many farm workers come from Mexico. Farming is a dangerous occupation because of the interaction with animals and machinery. Farmers have to provide their own health insurance.

One way to learn farming would be to apply to the "Organic Farming Certificate Program" at Michigan State University. The people at MSU kindly sent me materials, which lists classes for their 12 month program, including Agricultural Communications, Vegetable Production and Management and Technical Mathematics. For people my age, Dr. Young recommended Future Farmers of America and 4H to learn about farming and animal care.

I had fun doing this project because I learned about farming. Also, it helped me understand more about our eat local project. Here is a picture of me presenting the project to my class.

Comments (13)

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You Go-Girl. Sounds like you did a great job & I hope you got an A! I bet the other students learned alot as well as the teacher.

Posted by Julie | June 9, 2008 7:52 AM

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Great job, Anna! I didn't know that the average age of farmers was over 50. Very interesting article. Thanks!

Posted by Joy Weese Moll | June 9, 2008 9:26 AM

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Thanks Julie. I think the other students did learn a lot as well as my teacher. She gave me 45 out of 46 possible points!

Ms. Moll, I'm glad you learned something about farmers. I think we should all know more about the people that grow our food. Thank you for your comment!

Anna

Posted by Anna McClurkan | June 9, 2008 10:59 AM

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Great job Anna. You are a true star! I am very impressed with how much you learned and how well you presented your project. I can verify...your teacher learned a lot too!
Mrs. Street

Posted by Mrs. Street | June 9, 2008 1:06 PM

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Mrs. Street,
I am very glad you learned a lot! Thank you for reading my blog and posting a comment. Have a great summer!
Anna

Posted by Anna McClurkan | June 9, 2008 7:59 PM

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Hey Anna sweetie, this is truly awesome. I am so impressed with you. I sure learned a lot. I hope you share some of the food you grow with me and others.
Thank you Mrs. Street for helping Anna become such a wonderful, literate little person. Same for Anna's wonderful parents.

Anna's Nana

Posted by Veronica Caley | June 10, 2008 9:08 AM

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Hi gramma nana,
Tnanks for sending a comment. Anna

Posted by Anna McClurkan | June 10, 2008 11:42 AM

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Anna, It sounds like you did a very good job on your project. I grew up on a farm and we always had our veggie garden and I guess I never knew anything different. We all need to learn to eat more locally and support our "local" farmers. They are very important people. Keep up the good work.

Posted by Joyce Fitzstephens | June 12, 2008 10:36 AM

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Dear Ms. Fitzstephens, thank you for posting on my blog. I think another way to support our local farmers is to thank them for growing our food.
Anna

Posted by Anna McClurkan | June 12, 2008 2:38 PM

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Great Job Anna!! Let all us locavores know when your first crop comes in, we'll be sure to pay a fair price!

Have a great summer!

Posted by Michael Rowe | June 13, 2008 3:38 PM

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Dear Mr. Rowe, Thank you for posting a comment. Since the critters got our tomato seedlings, it might be awhile! No worries, though, we'll keep trying and let you know. Anna

Posted by Anna McClurkan | June 14, 2008 12:19 PM

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Anna--
It seems to me that all the farmers I know are sons and daughters of farmers. There aren't many professions in the U.S. that are so family-based, although morticians do come to mind.

So you may be on to something: somehow we need to get people interested in being farmers who don't come from farm families. Any ideas? Do you think that the offspring of locavores would be a good candidate pool for farming?

Booya,
Marigene

Posted by Marigene Arnold | June 14, 2008 3:04 PM

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Dear Ms. Arnold,
Yes, I think children of locavores could become farmers, but I don't think there would be enough of them! My mom says we need A LOT of farmers, and your post gave her an idea for a future blog. So be watching for that. Thank you for your comment.
Anna

Posted by Anna McClurkan | June 17, 2008 7:31 PM