An open letter to the generation that raised us to leave...
You raised us in tractor buddy seats, in bench seat pickups on dirt roads, and on the backs of old swayback horses.
You taught us how the sun makes the grass grow, how to know how far down the irrigation water is, that a cow and calf will both go back to the last place they sucked, and that the animals come first even in bad weather and on holidays.
All of those lessons introduced us to the romance of ranching. The beauty of new life, and the sweetness of early mornings and long days.
You taught us all that, made us fall in love with the lifestyle, and then told us to leave.
You want "better" for us. "A college education will serve you better", this work is hard and the payback is small in the way of money.
So we listened, parents know best right?
But, now your hair is greying, the bales seem heavier, and the days feel longer. You need more help, even if you don't want to admit it.
Good help has always been hard to find, but even more so when they are only invested in a paycheck, not the legacy.
We'd love to help, but when you told us to leave we listened. When you told us to go we built lives,
families, and careers.
The average age of the American rancher is 60. Only 8% of the country's farmers are under the age of 35.
You raised us to leave, but the fate of American agriculture is begging us to stay, begging us to come home.
Tonight let's say a prayer for the young family starting out with 5 acres and a few head of beef calves. A prayer for kids who decide that the ranch is where they need to be and that their ideas and strong backs can save dads ranch. A prayer for those who are busting their butts through college to get a degree in something that will make a difference back home. A prayer for the generation that was raised to leave but decided to stay.
Tonight let's say a prayer for the generation raising their kids the way they were raised but inviting them to stay.