By Tammy (lildrafire)
In a time in history when we’ve moved away from a greatly agricultural society it is refreshing to know that the hard work, dedication and sacrifice of the farmers of the past has not been forgotten. October 12th is traditionally Old Farmer’s Day, celebrated by many farming communities and small towns by 
breaking out the old style farming implements and showing how it was done back in the day. Some communities go all out, with re-enactments and demonstrations, as well as things such as wagon train parades, livestock events such as hog butchering and sheep shearing, hay baling and log splitting. Oh, and the food! Of course October is the end of Harvest season, so the bounty of the land is celebrated with dishes of every variety. Yummy goodness!
Even if you are far removed from farming in your own life, you can bet that somewhere in your ancestry there is a farmer in your family. The 1900 census states that 38% of all workers counted that year were farmers. That is over 29 million farmers! The further that you work back, the greater percentage of farming families as opposed to other occupations. In 1840, the first year that census 
records reflected occupations in the USA, 69% of the laborers were farmers. Immigration was at an all time high, especially from Ireland, because of the potato famine, and Germany, because of their Revolution. Many of these people came to the southern areas of the country because land was plentiful and cheap and began farming. 
With the great population we have now, family farming has given way to factory farming, but many people keep the soil under their fingernails by home gardening. Others, where land is available, keep small amounts of livestock, like chickens and goats. There is nothing like fresh eggs and homemade chevre from fresh goat’s milk to go along with vine ripened tomatoes, squash and spicy peppers.
Want to know more about the history of farming? About how to start your own gardens? About raising your own livestock? Check out these findings from PaperBackSwap!
Blooms of Bressingham by Adrian and Alan Bloom
Easy Patios & Small Gardens by Richard Jackson and Carolyn Hutchinson
The Healing Garden by Marjorie Harris
Old Farm by Jerry Apps
Goats by Mark Jude Poirier
Farm Animals by Nicola Tuxworth
When Chores Were Done by Jerry Apps
The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love by Kristen Kimball
Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
Tags: Book Recommendations, Members
Old Farmer’s Day! Very interesting post, Tammy. I grew up on a dead end dirt road surrounded by dairy farms and apple orchards in Columbia County, N.Y. There is nothing like it to teach you about life, past and present.
What a great article! I never knew there was an “Old Farmers Day”. My own father was this type of farmer. Raised enough crop and animals to keep his family of 11 fed. Whatever was left over was sold so we could have some cash. Most of the cash went back into improving the land. But – we were blessed beyond things. We ate tomatoes out of the field, blackberries off the vine and meat from the animals raised for that purpose.
My daddy told me once that the first field he plowed, he used a horse and the plow cut a 12 INCH furrow in the ground. The year he died my brother had a plow that cut a 12 foot furrow at once! Daddy felt fortunate to live in such a time and to see how family farms had flourished.
Above all, daddy raised 9 upstanding, productive adults who have contributed to the world in many different ways.
Thank you Tammy – for your so well written comments on farmers.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it 😉