Mother Nature Doesn't Care About Pandemics, We #FarmOn

Each morning, work boots thud on the laundry room floor each morning on the Kress family’s southeast Idaho farm, signaling the start of another day. They’ve farmed wheat and safflower since 1912, and this year is no different.

Jamie Kress, her husband, Cordell, and two children, like countless other farming families, will farm on as usual this year even in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“The agricultural industry has to continue to press forward and supply quality, abundant food,” says Kress. “Mother Nature has no regard for the pandemic.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has not greatly affected their operation, says Kress, who feels fortunate to continue producing food.

“Rest assured: the food is still here,” says Kress. “We’re planting according to our planned rotation.”

Farmers frequently face hardship, says Kress, citing low commodity prices, adverse weather and financial difficulties that “eat away your bottom line.” However, Kress says she draws encouragement from the beautiful surrounding scenery, the pride in a good crop, and working toward a common goal each day with her husband.

“Maybe in the moment things are hard, but we have a good foundation,” says Kress. “The passion on our operation lies in consistently trying improve the operation.”

Passion for continuous improvement and gratitude for agriculture pulls her through day-to-day struggles and global disasters, says Kress.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be involved in agriculture in this country,” says Kress. “Life is good all the time.”

Kress and her husband bought their first farm in 2004 and the Kress family has farmed the high mountain deserts of Idaho for more than 100 years.

“History shows that we can make it through,” says Kress. “We’re familiar with tough times. We adapt, we figure things out, and we persist.”

While much of the world has been silenced by quarantine, American agriculture farms on. This season, the crops will still get planted, the livestock will be fed, and food will continue to be grown, just like it’s been for generations.

Share how you #FarmON by texting FarmON to 31313 to submit your photos or video.

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I wrote this article for Farm Journal as part of their #FarmOn campaign.