Farmer's Motto

The ground is blanketed in white snow.  Our Hereford cows and calves are oblivious to the flakes that gather on their well-insulated coats.  At times, their faces almost disappear against the white background as they stand quietly on the pasture fields.  They tolerate the cold and winter weather as they patiently wait for spring and green grass.  It is their caretakers who mind the chill winds and frigid temperatures as we haul hay and silage to the field.

No matter how much I bundle up to face the elements, I dread going out into the storm.  On our farm, we still use tractors without the comfort of enclosed cabs.  Mike is the tough one in our family, driving feed to the hungry Herefords in rain, sleet and snow.  Mike’s only protection against the elements is layers of clothing under thermal coveralls.  Only in the worst storms does he don a hat.  It is a well-worn black felt cowboy hat from his youth.  Perhaps the childhood memories attached to it help warm his heart as well as his head as he labors to fill the tractor's bucket loader and our cows’ empty stomachs with corn silage.

My job is generally opening gates and watching cows as Mike deftly maneuvers the tractor through mud, snow, and ice-covered obstacles depending on the day's weather.  He hollers for anxious cows to move out of the way, herding them on tractor rather than on horseback as his childhood’s cowboy heroes might have done.  Reluctantly, the cows give way to the approaching machine and driver, waiting to dive into the sweet-smelling fermented feast that will keep them satisfied until tomorrow’s meal.

Waiting between loads gives me plenty of time to think about extraneous things. It helps keep my mind off the chill that threatens to permeate my soul as I stand vigil at the gate.  I think about the majority of people who are sitting comfortably inside their cozy, warm homes on this wintery day, oblivious to the howling winds and freezing flakes that pelt against my face.  Few occupations rival farming for having to confront Mother Nature’s most challenging elements on a daily basis.  Farmers could live up to the same motto that has been assigned to our mail carriers:  “Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds.”

I began to wonder where that saying came from.  Once inside my farmhouse, I turned on my computer and searched on-line and found that the original saying is actually: “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”  It was said by a Greek historian, Herodotus, roughly 2,500 years ago.  He was speaking about Persian mounted postal couriers who carried messages during the war between the Greeks and the Persians around 500 B.C.  He obviously admired their bravery as they performed their duties.

While most of us attribute this saying to the U.S. Postal Service and assume it is their official motto, I learned that it is not their official slogan.  In fact, they have no slogans.

The reason it has become identified with the U.S.P.S. is because, back in 1896-97, when the New York City General Post Office was being designed, an architect came up with the idea of engraving Herodotus' saying around the outside of the building. From that time on the saying has been associated with U.S. postal carriers.  The building is now a national landmark and occupies two full city blocks.

I don’t know of any barns that bear the same sort of inscription, but perhaps it should be painted around each and every one.  We would have to substitute farmers for couriers, but the message is just as true.  Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stops farmers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Things are certainly different for postal carriers today than when the Persian couriers rode their horses through dangerous terrain in times of war.  The life of a farmer has changed dramatically, as well, during the past 2,000 years.  But we still don’t let the challenges of man or nature slow us down or keep us from faithfully fulfilling our jobs.  Too many mouths are depending on us every day.

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