Being raised on a farm is probably one of the things I am most grateful for.
I love everything about farm life – the space, the freedom, the work… it is a wonderful way to live.
My Dad and my uncle are third generation farmers, with their grandfather beginning the farming operation, and together they grow tobacco, ginseng, various cash crops such as rye and soy beans, and they manage a poultry barn.
I have been working on the farm since I was about 13, starting with very basic jobs and tasks like cutting grass and grading tobacco, and have worked my way up to tasks that require more responsibility and effort. Since I am older now, in the summer months I work full-time for my dad, and like to consider myself to be his right-hand-man – er, woman. Whatever he needs done, or tells me to do, I do it. I love using the tractor to cultivate driveways throughout the fields in the summer, and I also really enjoy suckering tobacco, which is when small growths are removed from the top and bottom of a tobacco plant by hand because they ‘suck’ out nutrients. Peksy little things, eh?
I would definitely say I cut grass the most, because we have a pretty big yard, and between my older cousins and myself, there are 3-4 other properties to maintain – needless to say, our Dad’s keep us busy.
I enjoy working in the chicken barn as well, though the smell sometimes makes me reconsider my liking for it. It can get pretty nasty. I don’t know what is it about chickens, but they stink.
My work ethic today is definitely a result of working on the farm from such a young age, and I think it is one of the most effective ways for a child to build concrete work ethic that will certainly benefit them when they are older and enter the work force.
My boyfriend has a cattle farm that he runs with his mom, and their cows are strictly raised for beef, meaning their milk is solely to feed their calfs. I really enjoying helping him out with the work he has to do on his own farm as well. It’s fun and refreshing to different sorts of farm work, and he definitely appreciates the help (You’re welcome Blaine).
My goal when I am finished my education is to pursue a career in editing, but I would love to still have some sort of affiliation with the farm. It’s always been a part of my life, and I can’t see myself not being involved with it even when I am away from home and working.
Sometimes the work can be a huge pain in the rear, but it’s influenced who I am today, and I wouldn’t change living and working on the farm as I’ve gotten older for anything.
I can you promise you, though, when I get a house of my own, my lawn will not require six hours of grass cutting. I’ve had my fair share of lawn mowers and cutting grass to last me a lifetime.
– Lauren 
ontheedgeofeverything 