I will never forget the way some of my “friends” looked at me after my engagement was announced. In fact, I heard some of them snicker when I walked past them. I heard the one girl say, “She is going to marry a dairy farmer! Can you believe that?”

I thought nothing about marrying a farmer. I had dated my farmer for almost two years. He was different than many you might find. When he went to town, he always wore clean clothes and had taken a shower before he went. That kind of stuff was important to him. He did not want to smell like a farmer!

Another reason he was different was that he was very smart although he never gave himself enough credit. He understood the business of farming and made the most of it.

During my college years I worked in Kobacker’s store in the men’s department. There were times when I had to hold my nose because the customer was not clean. Some had manure on their boots, but came in anyway. My job was to find what they needed and check them out so I knew what he meant. Not all farmers are clean.

I recall Dick telling me he had a small amount of money in his savings. I thought that was fine, but it really did not matter to me. I was more interested in the type of man he was. Although I was college educated, I was no better than he was.

The idea that farmers are dumb is just plain crazy. Farmers have to be smart in order to run their business at a profit. They purchase everything retail and sell their product wholesale.

Years ago, when I was attending Dairy Princess seminars as a presenter, I wrote an article about the price that dairy farmers received for their product. Most of the people that I faced had no idea about what they were really getting for their product so that was an eyeopener. I thought it was something important for the girls to understand. They all came from dairy farms. If they were going to educate the population about their industry that had to understand how things worked.

My dairy farmer was not definitely not dumb. He was a good businessman. He started taking in only hay when it was not popular. He figured all the trips around the fields planting corn were nonsense when he could just harvest hay. In spite of the fact that he made less milk, he did not spend as much money doing that. That meant he was ahead of the curve.

His father gave him free rein as to how he managed the cows. He sold some of his cows to other producers, but also sold some to foreign markets yielding more profit. He generally managed his industry well and came out ahead.

My husband also made good investments. He always paid ahead for his feed to be able to deduct it. He only bought new machinery when it was absolutely necessary. He could cobble together things so as not to have to purchase something new. He went to farm auctions to get the best deal. All in all, he was a good manager.

My daughter-in-law asks my son how he learned to do so many things. He said that he learned from his father and grandfather. My mother-in-law told me that Dick followed the machinery around the field before he was old enough to help. When the baler broke down, he was able to tell his father how to fix it because he had watched the knotter work. I am not sure how well that went over with my father-in-law, but he made it work.

They were always fixing something. While our son was in college, he took a job in maintenance at the college. He learned a lot that way as well as he was called upon to fix things.

The price of milk in the store does not reflect what the farmers get. While I understand that the stores need to make a profit and they must pay the cost of transportation, farmers are not getting rich.

The laws in New York are different than the laws in Pennsylvania. New York can sell milk cheaper because of that. In Pennsylvania milk can not be put on sale.

Most farmers are in the business because they genuinely enjoy working with their animals. It is a way of life.

Without our farmers we would have no food on the store shelves. Food does not grow in the stores. If you really want to understand the food chain, plant a garden, harvest what you grow, and preserve it to feed you all winter.

You have no place to grow things you say, well purchase some land – at this point at an inflated price. Prepare it so you can grow things. Of course, you must also purchase some equipment – that does not come cheap either. Then you may begin to understand all the perils that farmers face.

Life on a family farm is not easy. You work long hours. You have sleepless nights worrying about your animals and your crops. I remember one summer that it rained a lot. We were living in a trailer. We got so we hated the sound of the rain on the tin roof.

If you know a farmer, try to patronize the business. Tell him/her thank you for all of his/her hard work. March is Agriculture Awareness Month. Remember where your food comes from.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell.Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.