what do you mean farmers are busy in April?

The other day I was responding to some emails when I came across one from a teacher. She was requesting farmer participation in an agricultural event at her school some time mid-april. My first thought was EXCELLENT, I'm glad to see that teachers are educating their students about farming and food and where it really comes from (the supermarket, right? :::giggle::).

I spent about 10 minutes compiling my thoughts down in an email. I was trying to explain that farmers work on a different kind of schedule than most people. You pretty much never see them Spring, Summer or Fall because, well, that's when they make money.

When I say that to people they often look at me and respond "hmm yeah I never thought of that". It astonished me that people never really got that part on their own...really!!


I remember way back when my dad owned a seasonal business. From April (and sometimes even March if the weather was cooperating) through October or November we didnt really see much of him. He was often gone in the morning before we were up for school and was never home on time for dinner. Through most of Spring he worked 12 and sometimes even 14 hours days. My mom would work a full-time job while coming home at night to do all the financial paperwork for the business. SHe'd be in the home office until 11pm some nights getting payroll ready for the next day.

As a family we never celebrated Memorial Day, Independence Day or Labor Day. While most backyards had smoking BBQs and pool parties, my backyard was quiet as a mouse. We hardly ever went to the beach or went on summer vacations. 'Work Work Work Work Work...No time for play. We must make our money now while the season is here.'

Sometimes I felt jipped out of a normal childhood- whatever that is - but as I grew older my dad reminded me (and still does today) that his business "put a roof over our heads and food on our table". The fruits of my dad's labor did not go unoticed, especially when he would drag me and my brother out to do hard labor in the summer heat. He wanted to remind us that no matter what kind of job we chose in the future, we should always do our best.

He called it "building character".

We called it "slave labor" and "cheap babysitting".

I love my dad (and mom too!!) and wouldn't trade my childhood for anything. He took us skiing all winter long and we went to Disney World in November and Dad NEVER had to work on Christmas day. In the summer we were always outside and when business was slow we would all take a short weekend trip to Washington DC to learn about our for-fathers!

I imagine it's pretty much the same thing for farming families here on Long Island, or just about anywhere in the world, so it was easy for me to explain to that teacher why a farmer couldn't participate in their agricultural fair in the middle of April. I just don't think it was so easy for her, or the many others who contact us, to really understand it. We get so many requests just like these and almost all of them respond "what do you mean their busy?".

And what's my #1 response to that?

"They're working... making a living.... putting a roof over their heads and feeding their families....".

Gosh that sounds familiar...