The World Ag Expo, and Why Farmers Are Cool (Tangent Post)

The view near my house. 

Let's talk about local geography for a minute. I live in the Central Valley of California. My hometown was once dubbed the "Fruit Basket of the World." This area produces more fruit than anywhere else on planet earth. The lifeblood of the entire valley is in the acres of fruit trees, tin-roofed packing houses and bright green tractors plowing through the fields. This is farm country, and I've always loved it and been proud of it. 
Farming is cool. For one, without farmers, nobody would have any food to eat. And two, I think that those who live in cities or large population centers forget that their produce actually has to be grown somewhere, picked, inspected, packed and shipped. Food doesn't just appear. 
Our modern society here in the United States has moved a long way from prairie folk, duking it out on their own in the middle of the open fields of Kansas. We purchase food at fast food restaurants and grocery stores like WalMart. But somebody has been on the tail end of that process, making sure that YOU get your food from the tree and straight onto your plate. 
So what's my point? Here at Writing Belle, I always do stories that highlight the art of storytelling, but today I'm highlighting the art of farming - which is a story in itself. I visited the World Ag Expo this past week, the biggest agriculture show in the world. It's HUGE. And by huge I mean massive. I was there ALL DAY and I still didn't see a good portion of what was on display. Tractors, tools, dairy farm gadgets, ATVS and side-by-sides, 2500 pickup truck demo rides, delicious fair food (tri-tip sandwiches and Superior Dairy ice cream for the win!), pressure washers and welding helmets, drill kits and cow-washes (it's totally a thing), and so much more. Over 1,500 individual vendors. It was a long day, but it was fun. And it really inspired me to share with you guys just how important farmers are to our communities, states and countries. Farmers feed us, so when you can, support the farming community and - especially in California - try to conserve water so they can use it to keep their crops healthy and strong. 

What helps them, helps you, too! 

#MyJobDependsOnAg 
#SupportFarmers #SupportAg