By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Sunday I went to the Thurston County Fair to take photos of the animals, exhibits, and carnival.

It reminded me of growing up on a farm. We had our own apple ranch for about four years, and then, after tough times, my dad was the field manager for a large company that grew apples.

Prior to the 20th century, the typical American family lived on a small farm. They raised hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens, and planted corn, fruits, garden vegetables, hay, and wheat.

This began to change during the last half of the 1800s, and life was very different in the next century.

With the development laborsaving machinery and fertilizers and pesticides, farmers could grow more on each acre. Not as many farmers were needed. Many people left the farms and went to work in the cities.

Corporate farming, with government subsidies, took over a large part of the food market and gobbled up farmland.

We now have more city dwellers than people living in rural areas.

When I was growing up, I didn’t appreciate living in the country. I didn’t want to be a farmer. I wanted to be a professional and not work from dawn to dusk in food production like my parents did.

So I went to college and studied journalism, consumer economics, and public administration. I’ve enjoyed careers in these fields.

But now, I have a different opinion about farming. I think people can learn a lot from the agricultural environment and being involved in growing food.

Today, there are almost two million farms in the United States. About 80 percent of those are small farms, and a large percentage are family owned.

More and more of these farmers are now selling their products directly to the public. And the sales of organic food are climbing steadily.

I appreciate young people who are taking an interest in organic farming. I talk to them at our local farmers’ market.

They’re excited and proud to be working in organic farming. Many of them grew up in the city.

I hope that you have access to fresh, organic food in your area. I think this trend is positive in helping Americans get healthier food. We’ve gotten so far off track with the highly processed food grown by big agriculture and marketed by corporate America.

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