Who Did I Get It From?

I was talking with someone the other day about my animals, and the question came up: "Who did you get it from?"

To be completely honest with you, I never really had thought it before, but as we went on to talk about how they knew my family, I  realized that farming has really been in the family for many generations.

 So, who did I actually get my love of agriculture from?

For the first time on Farming with Cianna, we have conducted an interview to find an answer to my question.

I decided to interview my Grandma Vicki knowing that she could give me all the details about my family's history.

Interview





Opening

Cianna: I was talking to some people the other day about the farming and animals, and the question came up "Who did you get it from?"
I was very caught off guard and realized that I've never really thought about it. That night, I was thinking about who I actually did get it from, but I really had no knowledge on the previous farming generations in our family. I knew about the farm that was by your house and how many of my loved ones were invovled, but I didn't know any details.
That is why I decided my next blog should be about my family's farming background and "Who I got it from."
If you don't mind, I have a few questions to ask about our family's history.

Background:

Farming is obviously a very fast evolving way of life. With new machinery being made, to science gaining knowledge, many things are constantly changing.
In the past 50 years, farming has drastically changed it's ways.
Some examples are:

• People figuring out ways to produce more on less land.
• New findings on genetics allowing us to modify foods for our liking.
• Improved pest management programs.
• Better fertilizer.
• Larger, faster machinery.
• Rapid and more accurate soil testing.

Questions and Answers

Cianna: How have you seen farming change in the past 20 years?

Vicki: They have developed better seeds that are disease resistant and produce more and they've created better machinery that makes everything easier.

Cianna: How many generations before you have been involved in agriculture?

Vicki: It all started with Samuel Huntly and his wife, Cathren Wolfe-Huntly. There have been 4 generations before me.

Cianna: What type of farming has ran in our family?

Vicki: We have raised crops and animals.

Cianna: Did you help out on the farm?

Vicki: Yes, my sister and I helped our dad with the raking and animal care.

Cianna: Did you have any daily chores around the farm that were meant for only you?

Vicki: Yes, I collected the eggs and when grandma didn't have time to milk the cows (Poke and Jers) I would milk them for her.

Cianna: What was it like living on a farm?

Vicki: It was very hard work working in the acre garden, feeding, and doing barn work, but it taught us a lot.

Cianna: Were their any animals on the farm that you were attached to?

Vicki: Poke and Jers, the dairy cows, and Dirty Sally, the sow.

Cianna: Are you glad you were raised in a farming atmosphere?

Vicki: Yes! Being raised in a farming atmosphere taught us how to respect hard work, how to respect each other, the animals and life itself. You get to experience things being born and death because of whatever reason. But, you learn not to take life for granite because it's a precious thing that only God can give and it doesn't last for very long, just like on the tombstones you have a birth date and a death date and that little dash in the middle is all the life you've got.

Cianna: Does farming still interest you?

Vicki: Yes.

Cianna: If you could go back to farming in the past, would you?

Vicki: I probably would because things weer still "natural". Today, everything is so fast-pace and we want to preserve everything by adding these preservatives that we don't even know what they are. I think we need to go back to a more natural state instead of putting chemicals in everything.

Cianna: What is YOUR definition of a farm?

Vicki: A place to raise animals, food, and family where there is a lot of love.

Cianna: What are the first words that come to your head when I say "animals, farm, outdoors,etc.."?

Vicki: Beautiful and calming. That's because when I'm upset, I know I can go talk to Velvet, and she'll calm me down and let me know everything's going to be okay. She's probably the one animal that knows more about the Bible than any other animal because I go down to the barn and read Psalms with her.

Closing

Cianna: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Vicki: I don't think.

Cianna: Well thank you very much for finally answering my question: "Who did I get it from?"
It's pretty cool to know where it all started and about the traditions we have carried on for many generations.
I am very glad to follow in their footsteps!

So it all started back in the 1820's when Samuel H. Huntly cleared the fields of his property to begin raising crops and animals. The land has been in our family ever since! How great!
I am so happy I got to interview my grandma. Again, I thank her for teaching me.

I hope you've learned a lot about my family and "Where I got it from"! I've really learned a ton!