This summer my wife and I have been taking day vacations in New York State. Our routes to places of interest are mostly through rural upstate New York counties. Many of the counties have outstanding farming operations and others are more wild and scenic. However, each day vacation has exposed us to the bounty of agriculture right next door to where we live. Soybean, corn, alfalfa, wheat, oat, and barley fields demonstrate the great bounty of the earth and the dedication of thousands of farmers. We also have observed the growth of the fruit of the vine and trees on these journeys. These vistas are a reminder that humankind is critically dependent on the productivity of the land for our survival.
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| Corn Tasseling |
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| Soybeans Within a Mile of Our Home |
In developed countries like our United States of America, so few people are needed for food production that most of our population have little sense of what it takes to provide our market basket of food. We are indeed blessed with abundance of low cost food. In the hierarchy of human needs, food is an essential need along with clothing and shelter. However, without food, neither clothing nor shelter have the same essential demand on our resources. Because we have abundant food, clothing and shelter we are able to engage in other activities that enhance the quality of life. With these essentials in hand we are able to direct our attention to both visual and musical arts as well as sports and other entertaining activities. In my humble analysis, our cultural richness is only enabled by the bounty of agriculture. Thank God for the tillers of the earth!
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