California and NW Youth Have Farming Roots,
When I hang out with agriculture professionals I’m continually told that young people don’t know where their food comes from because they are several generations removed from the family farm. Well if so maybe those of us in agriculture have dropped the ball? And while that might be true if you grew up in Chicago or New York City I dare say that the millennial generation out West is more connected to the land than baby boomers ever were. I’m Susan Allen, stay tuned for OpenRange. I stumbled upon a cool web site by US Davis college students who look more like they should be out surfing then promoting farming and ranching . It is called “ We Love Farmers”. It’s edgy, with face book, blogs even clothing line to promote the fact we all should care about the people who produce our food. It got me to thinking that the under thirty set out West is far more savvy about agriculture thanks to the success of the sustainability, eating local and organic movements than I ever was. My options for apples as a kid were red delicious, peanut butter Skippy’s, coffee Folgers, and grass fed meant turning out my horse for a couple hours. Basically I’m excited and encouraged that the stars have aligned to for young people to become aware of the importance of the sanctity and security of a country that proudly produces it’s own food. No matter what side of the fence you sit regarding organic or conventional farming or ranching even if you straddle the middle be happy the face of farming is gaining an identity. I’m Susan Allen