I live in the Midwest, which means I’m accustomed to seeing corn and soybean fields that stretch for miles. About 10 years ago I went on a tour to Canada and when we were in the test plots, I was “ooing and awing” over canola while other attendees were thrilled to see field corn. Once you get outside your own state’s borders, it’s amazing what the world of agriculture has to offer.

Over the years, I’ve learned about grape harvesters, took a cotton tour in Mississippi (even flew in a crop duster!), seen a pecan grove, visited a strawberry farm (they should’ve weighed us before and after because I swear I ate 10 pounds of strawberries!) and even rode on a tomato harvester. Needless to say, when I got off that thing, I wished I hadn’t worn a light colored shirt.

But the way we grow and harvest our food in this country is a thing of beauty. The technology behind it all … like the optic “eye” that detects a tomato’s color and kicks the green ones back off into the field as quality control; or the GPS equipment that allows growers to vary the rate at which they apply pesticides and nitrogen to a corn field. It’s amazing.

My uncle just had the opportunity to travel to Florida with BASF as a Nebraska representative where he went to A. Duda Farms. The tour group saw celery, cabbage, sweet corn and sugarcane being harvested. For the celery, they cut it right in the field, trim it to the purchaser’s needs, rinse it, put it in the bag, box it, and it is on its way to stores across the country. As they were harvesting, another crew was replanting the crop to replace what was harvested.

I’ve never seen a celery or sugarcane field but would like to someday.

So do you know where your food comes from? Do you appreciate the farmers who have grown that food for you? Did you also know we have one of the most affordable food sources in the world, right here in our own back yards? Be nice to those farmers – they grow what keeps us going.

Until we walk again …

* Photo courtesy of Dan Shaw.