I'm not a big football fan, but the mellow voice from the past paired with powerful images that came on during Super Bowl XLVII was a show-stopper. Watching the two-minute commercial for Ram trucks nearly brought tears to my eyes. And from comments, it reminded people across the country about their rural roots and hopefully about work done every day by those involved in agriculture.
Pairing a speech by well-known radio commentator Paul Harvey with vivid images of people in a farm/ranch setting, the two-minutes caused many to pause and take in the words and remember the generations who plowed the fields and hauled the bales. So much of the time, we in the two percent of America's farming community fight to get our voice heard. This well-placed and well-received spot hit home with many enjoying life in America, watching television and cheering for team favorites. The favorite this time was the memories and the reminder of those who work hard to grow the food and livestock needed to feed our country and the world.
Trying to keep young people involved in agriculture is a challenge we face. Ram paired the visual message with a a committment of support by donating $1 million to FFA; that number grows with the more social media badges shared from its site at ramtrucks.com/en/keepplowing.
The unforgettable voice of Mr. Harvey reminds me of sitting in our kitchen, enjoying lunch with my dad and family on our family farm near Bath. It's a salute to all involved in agriculture, no matter what kind of truck you drive or what color of machinery you have. It's a tribute to all involved in this great industry. And I'm proud to be a farmer and to be married to a farmer.
So God Made a Farmer
And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So, God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So, God made a farmer.
“I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait for lunch until his wife's done feeding visiting ladies and tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon - and mean it.” So God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt, and watch it die, and dry his eyes and say, 'Maybe next year.'”
"I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of hay wire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. Who, at planting time and harvest season, will finish his 40-hour week by Tuesday noon. And then, pain'n from 'tractor back,' put in another 72 hours." So, God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bales, and yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to mend the broken leg of a meadow lark." So, God made a farmer.
"It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed, and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk. Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing. Who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what Dad does.'” So, God made a farmer.
