Life’s Lessons the Farm Way

Most people look at Heartland and see a rural farm, meant for raising animals and growing crops. When my family looks at Heartland, we see our home.

Contrary to what you might think, those animals and crops are not the most important thing we are raising here on the farm. The most important thing we raise here is our children. We have three of them, ranging in age from 15-years-old all the way down to too young to walk.

A farm is an interesting environment to raise a child in. If you think about it, farming is all about hard work, dedication and discipline. Learning about life comes early, hard, fast, and ruthlessly when you grow up on a farm.

For our youngsters, the reality that someone has to raise the food you put in your mouths is as second hand as flipping on a light switch. Our kids learn about things like death and birth before they can really even talk. They know better than some adults the fact that all things, plants and animals are born or germinate, and that all things eventually die, is a reality of our lives.Some people call rural kids “sheltered,” but I think growing up in this environment gives these kids an advantage over others. Our kids get an early introduction to the fact that you don’t always get what you want, that life is precious, and that there are many, many, many more important things in this world than video games, sports, and clothes.

We at the farm, and in agriculture in general, value hard work, honesty, integrity, and common sense way more than fashion, style, and the latest electronic gadgets. And history tends to agree with us that these personal characteristics tend to create the great human beings. They are, in fact, timeless, and we feel honored to be able to teach at least three children their importance. Wanna learn more about agriculture and the life lessons it teaches?