Dear farmers and ranchers,

We drive past golden wheat fields in June and hum about America the beautiful and amber waves of grain. We crank up Kenny Chesney and sing “She Thinks my Tractor’s Sexy,” though most of us wouldn’t have a clue how to turn one on and use whatever implements you pull behind it. And we believe the Ram truck Super Bowl commercial with Paul Harvey’s “On the Eighth Day God Made a Farmer” is still the best commercial, ever. 

We give thanks to you when we say grace over our meals. In our family, our grandchildren say the Tick Tock prayer before each meal.

“Tick, tock, tick, tock

This is the way we pray

We thank the farmers and Jesus Christ

For giving us food today, hooray!”

We are thankful for you and want you to know why. Although we don’t understand all that you do, there are some things we notice.

We give thanks for the roles you play in our community. We notice the ways you give back to your community by supporting our Little League teams, serving on school boards, running for a political positions and volunteering in the numerous activities it takes to make a community strong.

We give thanks for your ingenuity. We see the old tractors rusting by the barn while huge, gorgeous new tractors roll across the field and while we might not understand those new ones are talking to satellites, we intuitively know you are innovating to be better at providing food, fuel and fiber for us.

We give thanks for your hard work ethic. Social media has given us a glimpse into what your everyday life looks like from all-night harvesting to get the crops in before the rain, busting ice off the pond so livestock can drink and sitting beside your momma cows and pigs helping them give birth at 2 a.m. Even the clothes you wear like boots and blue jeans with leather gloves tucked in your back pocket are clues that your lifestyle is one of hard work in all seasons.

We give thanks for how important family is to you. It doesn’t go unnoticed that your whole family is involved in your farm or ranch. Grandpa and grandma, mom and dad, children and grandchildren are all part of making sure the crop you planted or the animals you raise receive the best of care. Many of you even name your farm a “family farm” and boast about how many generations of your family have been engaged in raising food for us to eat. That enduring sense of value you place on those who have gone before you and ensuring those who follow after can grow food for us to eat gives us great comfort in knowing that you, as a fifth-generation family farm, are making wise choices about how your family’s 10th and 20th  generations can still be on the farm.

We give thanks for persevering against all odds. There seems to be a lot of potential obstacles you must overcome to be successful. Mother Nature can go from being your best 

Rick McNary is a leader in bringing people together to build community and reduce hunger in sustainable ways.