Finding gratitude in a tough environment

Economic Research & Market Advisory Services to the Livestock & Meat Industry

1991-2022

P.O. Box 370 Vale, OR 97918 (541) 473-ECON (3266) jnalivka@fmtc.com sterlingmarketinginc.com

Gratitude in a year of tribulation and looking forward to 2022

BY ALLISON ELIASON for the Idaho Enterprise

As farmers and ranchers are buttoning things up at the end of the year, we can’t help but take stock of the last year and how we’ve made out. After a year like 2021 where we have dealt with drought, limited resources, increasing costs and low markets, it’s hard to find much good in the agriculture industry. Producers are fighting what seems to be an uphill battle to feed a demanding yet seemingly unthankful society. Needless to say, the current climate is somewhat dreary and discouraging.

Honestly, it can be hard to look past the daily deeds that require so much attention. Managing livestock, working the land, maintaining equipment and facilities, handling office demands and putting out the endless “fires” require so much focus that we too often narrow our perspective. It can be hard to take a beat to pause and see just how far our industry has come.

Agriculture has been the backbone of our growing society in this nation. As settlers moved across the country for hundreds of years, each community was built on the foundation of hardworking men and women with a passion for the work and connection to the land. Learning to hone and adapt their operations was a necessity to remain relevant in demanding markets. And while it was a means of survival, it has also been a gift for generations to come.

Imagine what this industry would be like without the great technology and innovation seen through the years. Techniques of the past like plowing fields with a single horse-drawn plow, planting fields by hand, or harvesting with a handleheld sickle were the only means to produce and bring in crops, and were extremely limiting and inefficient.

Step by step we have used and improved on what was new and revolutionary to the previous generation. In our own community we have seen exciting changes over the last century. Farmers would work all summer long to put up one crop of loose hay with horse-drawn mowers, rakes and wagons, derrick forks and beaver-slides. Now with improved seed and fertilizer, and cutting-edge equipment like swathers, bailers and pivots, farmers and ranchers can have three or even four hay crops of better quality feed on the same amount of ground.

Everywhere we look we can see the growth the industry has been blessed with. It has all come from the demand of needing to do more with such limited resources, but such challenges have never come without a solution. Inventive and forward-thinking minds have found a way to move past whatever obstacles were standing in the way.

Over years of experience, technology and innovation, the industry has developed in incredible ways that enable producers to do more and prove an exciting future. This is something we can be thankful for this season despite the lulls we find ourselves in. Be thankful for the strong ranching and farming heritage that has been built on the notion to never give in to defeat and a will to find answers to the ever-coming challenges we face.

And never forget, if you ate today, thank a farmer or rancher.