Who are our farmers?

Who are the farmers in Putnam County? For starters, did you know farmers makeup less than 1 percent of the population? Isn't that amazing to think -- the means to produce all the foods, everyday products, fuel and other needs are provided by less than 1 percent of the population. Wow!

It has been stated that farmers have a big task at hand in the next 50 years. The world's farmers must produce more food than the total amount they have produced in the past 10,000 years combined.

Now that may be hard to grasp, but consider this, the world population is growing at a rate of 210,000 people per day.

This is a huge challenge, and a challenge that will be met, by the farmers in Putnam County and around the world. The farmers in Putnam County are up for the challenge!

How do I know? I am one of them.

Our farm, just like others in Putnam County and across the U.S., is a family farm. Family farms make up 90 percent of the farms in the U.S. and an even bigger percentage in Putnam County.

Farming is in our blood, so to speak. I feel it is a passion of most farmers to see the family farm continue to grow and be passed on, to the next generation.

We strive to improve the land and the products we produce, whether it may be livestock for meat production, dairy, grains and oil seed, or even plants and vegetables.

Farmers in Putnam County may be very diversified in what they produce and others like ours may choose to concentrate in one area.

Like many other farms in the county we have chosen to concentrate on grain production. There is a growing demand for grain production, here in our own county and around the world.

We produce mainly corn and soybeans. The corn we produce is mainly used for animal feeds, whole grain in General Mills products, Ethanol and corn syrup.

The soybeans are used for soybean oil and soybean meal. Other uses include inks, cosmetics and plastics. The list could go on and on.

So the question remains, "Who are the Farmers in Putnam County"?

We are a group that is strong in faith, family-oriented,and looking forward to the challenges ahead. A group that relies 90 percent on weather for its prosperity. And a group that may only take 40 paychecks in their lifetime.