The Farm Legacy: Three Reasons Why It's Important

CLINTON, MISSOURI

   The family farm. It's a legacy worth preserving. After all, it's been preserved for you. Now it's your turn. If you've never thought of your life on the farm as a legacy, maybe it's time you did.

   Now, just why is it so important?

   One – It's important for you and your family It all started with your grandparents. They raised their children to love and nurture the land. Their children, your parents, passed that legacy of love onto you and your brothers and sisters.

   There is no other occupation for you but this. You, like your grandparents and parents, poured blood, sweat, and tears into your acres of life. You're connected not just to these loved ones; you're connected to the land in ways that non-farm families can never be. 

   Loving the land is a legacy you're constantly involved in passing on.

   One of the traits of living this life is that it makes you, and family members before you, strong and responsible, unafraid to tackle problems. Most problems have solutions, and none of you quit until you found one that worked best.

   Growing up, you weren't paying attention to that budding character trait in you and your siblings. But your parents were.

   And now you're seeing it in your sons, Ethan and Gabe, and in your daughters, Jenny and Isabel. They never complain about doing their chores. They never shirk the work.

   You and wife Karen are proud to guide them into developing strong characters that will be valuable to them all their lives. It's not just an important legacy – it's a vital one.

   When all five of you meet around the dinner table every night, talk turns to what you've accomplished that day. Much like when you, your parents, and your siblings sat around the table every night. Even though they chose careers off the farm, their growing-up years prepared them to supply the world with much-need talents and ethics. 

   The legacy lives on in a different way in them.

   Obviously, they still love it here. Otherwise, they wouldn't visit so often!

   Two – It's important for your neighbors and their families.

   Author Wendell Berry says there are "… rewards of longevity that do not accrue only to the farm family." Such as?

   Your farm's legacy affects your neighbors, townspeople, merchants and all that you do as a community. While you and your family are nourishing the land, the land is nourishing these friends and neighbors. It's an important legacy you share with them Three – It's important for protecting the soil.

   Nutrient-rich soil plays a vital role, today and for years to come when it's guesstimated that the Earth will house nine-billion peoples. 

   That's nine-billion mouths to feed every day, year in and year out.

   In your corner of the world, you'll nourish more people than ever from the food your farm produces. It's another important legacy for decades to come.

   It takes time to build a legacy.

   It's what you, Karen, Ethan, Gabe, Isabel, and Jenny, and three farmhands do every day.

   It's not something you do whenever you feel like it. It's something you do daily – just as your grandparents and parents did before you.

   You're living their legacy. Today, it's your turn. Tomorrow, I'll be your kids' turn.

   Why are you building this legacy? Because you love the land. And that's a legacy all in itself.

   We love what we do, too – helping farm families build legacies that will keep them and future generations on the farm. Let us help you. 

   Why not contact us today? ∆

   AgriLegacy: “Keeping the Farm in the Family”, www.agrilegacy.com