Listen to Victor Davis Hanson reminisce about life on the farm and the state of modern agriculture with cohost Sami Winc.
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7 thoughts on “The Agrarian”
William Shannon
Another great podcast. So much wisdom and insight into what made America such a successful nation. The greatness of our nation was founded in the goodness of our people.
It seems we have lost our way. Victor Hanson is a guiding light in our modern era in what we should be focusing on and what matters. He reminds us of the honor in labor and the value of the individual enshrined in our way of life.
We are in dire need of a unifying voice on what is right and good about America so that we can find our way out of this quagmire we are in. Dr. Hanson is that vice, thank you sir, you are a great American.
It was enlightening to hear some of the obnoxious comments made to you by your fellow farmers. What happened to them and their farms? I’m guessing they in turn were eaten by the corporate farms. So maybe in the end you “won.”
Thank you for this! Like Sulla’s veterans found out, farming requires (industrial farming aside) a multi-generational community on carefully developed land. It’s also really difficult to spend any time away from because all the processes are interlinked (milk cows-collect curds-feed whey to pigs-a little whey in the bread starter). My Vermonter friend only makes it work because he has a day job, a wife who is a farmer’s daughter, and a healthy family of engineers and football players who can spend a weekend on a barn raising. I’ve known people who try to Wendell Barry it and end up freezing in their farm house hugging their last goat (or sheep in the second case) before they cash out. My Vermont friend also has enough energy for six people. They lost the farm once and got it back. The short growing season has left them repeatedly in the lurch. Neither of us puting our heads together has been able to get the cheeses to work. In spite of all that, he and his wife are determined to die on that land they love it so much. He talks exactly like Victor and uses the long winters to classically educate himself (a taste that started in prep school but didn’t mature till he started farming). We had at least six farms ( most in the same family since the 1690s) in the N.E. town I grew up in and I still benefit from those hobbits and my hobbit friend. Being around that made me a better person and I hope I can still have my ashes sent home and buried alongside their beautiful stones. That s
I love these shows. I think back to all of the great characters I have know who are now long gone. People who were forged rather than molded. Thank you for sharing your families stories. We should all share our families histories with our young.
Thank you for sharing tales of your farm life. It is a special experience. There is something in it that can bring out supreme satisfaction when you can plan out, work towards and ultimately succeed at the end of the year. Yes, there are too many years you don’t succeed whether from bad luck, bad timing or sheer stubborn stupidity. But the sense of downright freedom/self-determination you have when you wake up to a rooster crowing or lowing cattle and you can walk out to your yard at dawn, coffee in hand, organizing your waiting daily activities, is liberating. I lived on an eastern Iowa farm during my youth in the late ’60’s and early ’70’s and I well remember the economic annihilation of the small time farmer during the late ’70’s.
Being 30 trillion dollars in debt, and other things named at the end, cannot be blamed on “this generation” when our president is 79, and our congressional leaders are 71, 79, and 81. There may be other valid critique of the younger generation, but we can’t shoulder the blame of things that we are actively trying to change while being hindered by Boomers. The younger generation is trying to do good.
Another great podcast. So much wisdom and insight into what made America such a successful nation. The greatness of our nation was founded in the goodness of our people.
It seems we have lost our way. Victor Hanson is a guiding light in our modern era in what we should be focusing on and what matters. He reminds us of the honor in labor and the value of the individual enshrined in our way of life.
We are in dire need of a unifying voice on what is right and good about America so that we can find our way out of this quagmire we are in. Dr. Hanson is that vice, thank you sir, you are a great American.
It was enlightening to hear some of the obnoxious comments made to you by your fellow farmers. What happened to them and their farms? I’m guessing they in turn were eaten by the corporate farms. So maybe in the end you “won.”
Thank you for this! Like Sulla’s veterans found out, farming requires (industrial farming aside) a multi-generational community on carefully developed land. It’s also really difficult to spend any time away from because all the processes are interlinked (milk cows-collect curds-feed whey to pigs-a little whey in the bread starter). My Vermonter friend only makes it work because he has a day job, a wife who is a farmer’s daughter, and a healthy family of engineers and football players who can spend a weekend on a barn raising. I’ve known people who try to Wendell Barry it and end up freezing in their farm house hugging their last goat (or sheep in the second case) before they cash out. My Vermont friend also has enough energy for six people. They lost the farm once and got it back. The short growing season has left them repeatedly in the lurch. Neither of us puting our heads together has been able to get the cheeses to work. In spite of all that, he and his wife are determined to die on that land they love it so much. He talks exactly like Victor and uses the long winters to classically educate himself (a taste that started in prep school but didn’t mature till he started farming). We had at least six farms ( most in the same family since the 1690s) in the N.E. town I grew up in and I still benefit from those hobbits and my hobbit friend. Being around that made me a better person and I hope I can still have my ashes sent home and buried alongside their beautiful stones. That s
…thanks again for this. Go easy on the insurance people though ;-). More of them have done manual labor than you guess -and respect it!
I love these shows. I think back to all of the great characters I have know who are now long gone. People who were forged rather than molded. Thank you for sharing your families stories. We should all share our families histories with our young.
Thank you for sharing tales of your farm life. It is a special experience. There is something in it that can bring out supreme satisfaction when you can plan out, work towards and ultimately succeed at the end of the year. Yes, there are too many years you don’t succeed whether from bad luck, bad timing or sheer stubborn stupidity. But the sense of downright freedom/self-determination you have when you wake up to a rooster crowing or lowing cattle and you can walk out to your yard at dawn, coffee in hand, organizing your waiting daily activities, is liberating. I lived on an eastern Iowa farm during my youth in the late ’60’s and early ’70’s and I well remember the economic annihilation of the small time farmer during the late ’70’s.
Being 30 trillion dollars in debt, and other things named at the end, cannot be blamed on “this generation” when our president is 79, and our congressional leaders are 71, 79, and 81. There may be other valid critique of the younger generation, but we can’t shoulder the blame of things that we are actively trying to change while being hindered by Boomers. The younger generation is trying to do good.