WOODBURY — Working on a farm as a teen has many positive impacts, but it can also get very frustrating. Many young individuals trudge through the hard work, and some do it on the daily. As everyone knows, teenage years aren’t easy in the first place, but everybody goes through it. 

When working on a farm it can be very dangerous, things can happen like a PTO shaft grabbing a hold of clothing or falling off a tractor. Many other fatal accidents can occur. Farmers love what they do even though it’s dangerous, because what would the world do without farmers? 

There’s a common refrain that’s never been more important: Where does your food come from? You want a nice bowl of cereal before school — sorry, no farmers, no cows milked, and no grain harvested. Farming is one of, if not the most important agricultural subjects in this world, but many people just brush the subject off when it comes to talking about the skill, hard work, and long hours put in. 

What many people believe is that farming and agricultural skills should be taught at all schools. Here at Nonnewaug High School, we are lucky enough to have the Ellis Clark Regional Agricultural Science and Technology Center. Everybody should know how to grow their own crops and provide for themselves. According to Reuters, global food production “needs to grow by 60 percent before 2050 to meet the anticipated demand from an expected population of 9 billion.” Farming isn’t only important to American culture, but it’s also vital to sustain a growing world. 

 Working on a farm as a teen is very important for general life skills, too. It always comes in handy to learn something you didn’t know about providing for yourself. Even though farmers have a specific duty in growing our crops, their skillset can extend into nearly every trade from wiring electric fences to plumbing spigots for livestock. Farming is the ultimate profession for those who wish to create and sustain life and there are few professions that equal the importance of that of a farmer.