What Does Agriculture Mean to Me?
By Kate Bruns, Agribusiness
What does agriculture mean to me? According to Merriam-Webster, agriculture is “the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products.” However, agriculture means much more than this to me. I was raised on a cow/calf operation in northeast Nebraska. Agriculture is everything I have ever known, and I feel extremely lucky to have been raised around it.
Agriculture has been a critical component in creating and shaping my values and beliefs. The meaning of hard work and responsibility was taught to me through numerous tasks from taking care of bottle calves when I was five years old to feeding livestock, sorting and vaccinating cattle, and herd management today. Agriculture has taught me the true meaning of toughness and compassion. Being raised on a cow/calf operation, I have seen pain. I have seen loss. I have seen innocent cows and calves pass away right in front of my eyes after my family and I did everything possible to save them. Agriculture has taught me to look for the positives in situations like these and how to walk away with my chin up and be ready for another day. Staying strong on those bad days and celebrating the good days is a significant lesson that agriculture has shown me as well.
Another aspect of me that developed through agriculture is my drive and determination. There are no days off in agriculture; there is always something that needs to be done. This responsibility formed a drive within me to always try my best at anything and everything that is put in front of me. A passion for doing something you love comes extremely easy when agriculture is involved. Many people wonder if agriculture is worth it. All the long days of manual labor, frigid winters, and lack of sleep — is that really worth it? When you have seen all the hard work and dedication ranchers, farmers, and all agricultural producers put into their lives firsthand, you know why agriculturists do what they do. Their passion for their job is greater than any I’ve ever seen. Without this passion, our world would be starving. Agricultural producers provide food for our world as well as jobs for many. Without us, there is nothing.
Lastly, growing up with agriculture in my family has brought us all so close together as a family. Going through the good times and the bad with the ones that I love is what I enjoy the most about being raised in this industry. Seeing the beauty of agriculture and all God has given us makes me extremely grateful to live the life I live. So, when asked what agriculture means to me, I am proud to say agriculture is my lifestyle, a large part of my personality, and a crucial piece that molds who I am as an individual.
The blog posts in Forward. Together. are intended to foster an inclusive community of empathy and curiosity at Doane University by providing a glimpse into various individual identities and worldviews. These are community members’ unique stories and should not be presumed to be the experience of all who share the same identity.
