Would you let your daughter marry a farmer?

At the beginning of the semester, I was the only person in the class to say that I wouldn't want my daughter to marry a farmer. 

Of course, if my daughter wanted a life of really, really hard work that did not always promise to be rewarding, I would encourage her to follow that desire. I think there is more that needs to go into this decision making process than just having it based off of what I learned in this class. First and foremost, if she loved the man, I would absolutely, 100% be in favor of the marriage. 

I'd like to refine what I said about my opinion of my daughter marrying a farmer. I still don’t think I’d be absolutely in favor of it, because, as I mentioned before, there is a certain instability in farm life. There is never any guarantee that any of the crops will turn out, and I want something larger for my daughter. Every mother wants to know that their child is secure and that holds weight in this decision, I think. However, we talked a lot about the farming culture and I think that farmers are absolutely fantastic contributors to society. Obviously. Without farmers, the rest of us die. They take their jobs very seriously, and in doing so, they take the lives of those around them very seriously, too. They help each other out and I have learned that there is such a sense of community with farmers. Farming is not selfish. It is the exact opposite. Sure, farmers reap the benefits of what they sow, literally sow, but they also give so much of that away. I thought it was interesting when we discussed in class that farmers are constant “back scratchers”. It says so much about the farming community that they are typically willing to do anything for other farmers because they expect that the next time they need help, they’ll be able to get it. They are a community of givers and takers, but mostly givers.

Even still, after a semester of learning about the American farm, I wouldn’t feel comfortable on one for the rest of my life, and, assuming my daughter is similar to me, I don’t think she would be either. It’s a lot of work and nothing is ever sure. But, with the knowledge that I was able to cultivate this semester, it would be great to know that my daughter would always have a husband who would do his best to take care of her, as far as typical farming characteristics are concerned.