I took my nephews and niece to a small pig farm in my area so that they could learn about pigs and play with the babies! If my niece and nephews get involved in the family farm, they will be the 5th generation of Rooney's to farm in Haskell County, Kansas.
In light of a campaign put on by the AgChat Foundation called #foodthanks, I wanted to compile a simple list of why I am thankful for American farmers and ranchers who provide the food on my table everyday.
- I am thankful for the farming community because it is the reason I was raised in a rural setting. We may not have access to a large shopping area or abundant choices for restaurants where I live, but I consider the quality of life in Satanta, KS, to be very high.
- I am thankful for the farming community because it is going to be my career! I am a veterinary student at Kansas State University and would like to return to rural Kansas and get involved in food animal health. I also see a lot of opportunity for community enrichment programs with education brought in by a veterinarian for companion animal owners.
- I am thankful for the farming community because they, though small in number, feed and clothe the world! It is fascinating to me how my dad's cotton grown in Haskell County ends up in a foreign country for processing and then back in the US as denim for jeans. Or how the corn he grows ends up in the rations fed to cattle in our region's feedlot industry which are eventually sent to slaughter locations in our backyard to be shipped to foreign countries that do not produce enough meat to fill their demand.
- Finally, I am thankful for the farming community because my family has been a part of it for several generations and now my generation is getting ready to jump in to the family business! It makes us all very proud that the same pieces of ground my great grandfather first farmed will be planted by my brother and cousins this spring.
All my best,
Tera Rooney
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