Another Chance for Recognition
The annual Hawkeye Farm Show is now underway at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls…free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day through Thursday. I’m doing my “KXEL Live & Local” program from the show, on the concourse under the main scoreboard…stop by and say hello as you attend the show.
I love seeing the interaction at this and similar events. Folks who perhaps only see each other once a year reconnect as if no time had passed. Multiple generations of families make it a yearly ritual…last year, I think I saw one group representing four generations on the Iowa farm.
And there’s plenty there for those of us not closely involved with agriculture…more than 200 vendors, many with businesses that well serve the farm, but have broader services for those of us who live in rural areas as well as those of you who live in town.
Above all, however, it’s a good opportunity to say “thank you” to those who literally feed the world, who persevere in maintaining a wonderfully unique way of life on an Iowa family farm. A lot of good, hard-working folks will be making their way through the Dome during the three days of this show, and any of us who eat owe them a lot.
Maybe it’s time to recognize our farm families in the same we recognize first responders, members of the military, and others who do jobs we wouldn’t do…but benefit from richly every day.
So, how about a “thank you” greeting the next time you see someone engaged in agriculture. They have to worry about government, markets, Mother Nature, and all manner of things…then fight just to get what they financially have coming to them. That’s a lot more than most of us. And it’s deserving of recognition every day, not just during certain times of year.
