When I first had the idea of interviewing farmers, I was a college student pursuing my bachelor’s in accounting and working as a substitute rural mail carrier. The idea came as I was running the mail route in one of the more rural areas and there was one particular farm that always caught my eye and spurred the idea to one day get their story and take pictures of their beautiful farm.

Perhaps one day I will have the courage to go back to that farm and introduce myself and thank them for being the inspiration behind this project. In the meantime, what better way to start down this road than to interview those I already know and have had influence on me. I grew up on a farm and have always been around other farming families since I live in a rural area in Missouri.

My hope for this project is to create an ongoing series of real-life stories from farmers and farmers’ wives from around Madison County and surrounding areas. I want to shed light on the hardships and stresses of farm life while also celebrating all that farmers do every day.