You all know I’m on the road quite a bit, speaking at agricultural conferences across the country. And each week, I have the privilege of meeting hundreds of new friends who are involved in farming and ranching. With each trip, I head for home inspired by someone’s story and fueled with new hope for the future of agriculture.
This hope comes from the most inspiring places. It’s not celebrities, politicians, or corporations at the trade shows; instead the hope I uncover in the heart of rural America is with the God-fearing, American-loving families I meet in attendance.
They come from all walks of life from every segment of agriculture imaginable, and yet at their core, we are all very much the same. I could be in California or North Carolina or Oklahoma or Washington, and these folks are all the same — honest, hard-working, community-minded, family-oriented, and faithful. They immediately feel like friends, and sometimes family, and I think it’s something we should never take for granted.