Dear Farm Journal,

I don’t know what to say. I’m filled with uncertainty and fear for what the future may hold. I know that farming has been my most fulfilling and least financially rewarding career, yet I constantly strain and reach to hold onto this livelihood in a state of poverty ( I know I’m not supposed to say that, but let’s be real with each other). Will we be able to make it work… a question so many farmers and their families have had to ask themselves in this economy for generations. Is it fair? Hell NO. Is it right? No way! Is food important and valuable to people? It should be, but seems not to even be on the radar of our economic or political atmosphere. I feel like I am being pushed out of my most loved livelihood by the economic and agricultural giants who shape and rule our subsidies, grocery money, government programs, and our corrupt lobbying systems. Some days I don’t know if I should fight or give up, but today I am fighting by growing nutritious food and feeding our community while also not poisoning our land, water, plants, and animals… a small and probably inconsequential victory in the scope of the heinous crimes of modern agriculture.

~Joy