Answer:
Farmers are used to adversity. We are used to our livelihoods, and our families effected by forces beyond our control.
We watch as our entire crop is destroyed in a ten-minute storm. We grieve powerless, as disease rips through our herd. And we have seen our food stores burnt to the ground during times of conflict. We watch market prices tank when global production is good, we pray for rain, for markets, for health and for safety. And, on a daily basis we pray for an understanding of who we are and what we do.
Under the pressure of a global pandemic it is suddenly as if the entire world knows a little of what it is to be a farmer. We are perhaps at once the most connected and disconnected as we will ever be, we are a world experiencing fear, failure, grief, anxiety, and hope. And we are experiencing it together and all too often, alone.
As humans we are not meant to be isolated, it is in our nature, our DNA, and our souls to be social. We are driven by chemical feedback loops to find a tribe, to contribute, to love, and to be loved.
