Raising Hay

Raising Hay

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Burley Idaho, farmer/truck driver Craig Phillips is working through the coronavirus pandemic, keeping the nation's food supply going when almost every other aspect of society is shutting down. He is harvesting, bailing and delivering hay on an everyday basis. His commitment is that this nation’s farmers will not allow food shortages to happen.

So everybody's been worried about toilet paper, Clorox wipes and the mythical lack of food. I'm pretty sure that the ag industry, especially here in Idaho, isn't gonna let that happen. We're not gonna let people starve. We're still going to continue to do our our daily tasks, whether we're quarantined or not. We still have a job to do. We have America to help feed. And we're doing the best that we can to do our part to help feed America.

Phillips and fellow Idaho farmers feel a renewed sense of duty. Nothing, they say, is more important than the food supply.

So without the food supply. I mean, we're all going to starve. I mean, we're we're pretty much helpless. Everybody's so reliant on just going to the grocery store to pick up whatever they need off the shelf at Wal-Mart or their local grocery store. And that food has to come from somewhere. It just doesn't magically appear on the shelf. There are people that are behind the scenes that are working hard every single day to provide those things for you.

Phillips says he'll keep working long hours through the great pandemic, risking illness, growing his crop and delivering hay.

It's a very humbling experience to know that we're maybe kind of getting some recognition for the hard work it is that we actually do and that maybe someday people will take us for granted.

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