I'm proud that I grew up on a farm.  It has given me an outlook on life that many people will never have.  It has given me an understanding of what hard work is.  Many, many people have never really worked hard.  Unfortunately, many, many more people in the life we have now will never know what hard work is.  It is unfortuate. 

It takes alot of work to live in the country on a farm.  Even more work if it's more than just a grain farm.  I didn't have the type of farm chores that many of my friends had but I mowed acres of grass, planted and hoed alot of gardens with my mother and grandmother, did a lot of laundry, babysat a lot of cousins.  There was always something to be done in the summer. 

It takes alot of mental strength to live on a farm, to work a farm.  It takes alot of trust, hope and faith  to be a farmer. 

It is tough to be a farmer this summer.  It is tough to live on a farm this summer.  It is heartbreaking to look at the cornfields, knowing what the fading of healthly green means.  Being a farmer this summer means digging deep for hope and faith. 

Our farmers feed the world, not just America.  Many people think the food in the grocery stores, just like the money the government spends so easily, will always be there.  Even Iowan's who live in their town and city "bubbles" don't really understand what farming does for this country's economy.  It's unfortunate. 

It's not easy living on a farm this summer.