For almost a quarter of a century I have had the pleasure of hanging around farm folks. The farmers and farm folks I have known have come from a wide variety of backgrounds, states, ethnic heritages and ages. They are from large farms and small farms. They have produced row crops, livestock, specialty crops and more.

They have been rich and poor, young and old, but all had something special about them. That something is a little hard to define, but they all had a very passionate attachment to agriculture.

I am not sure if it comes from working the land, making things grow, working with animals, the strong family ties that come with farming, or what it is that causes this, but spend some time with farm folks and you will see what I mean.

Even if they worked in an office for a bank, seed company, equipment dealer or talk on the radio, when you start talking about agriculture they get that special look. Without getting too maudlin about it, let me just that say farm people have a very special attachment to agriculture that those who do not have it cannot appreciate or understand.

There are a lot of people who say they speak for farmers and who say they understand agriculture. But listen to them talk and you will quickly see that they do not care for agriculture the same way a farmer does.

The true passion for agriculture manifested itself this spring as the rain put planting on hold for weeks. The farmer stayed optimistic and determined. When the rain stopped, the farmer worked 18- and 20-hour days to plant the crop. In our get-rich-quick, hurry-up world, only a special group of people have what it takes to wait out the weather. In our quarter-to-quarter, 401K stock market society, only farmers have what it takes to take the long view.

Compare that to the bankers who, when times got tough, went running to Uncle Sam for a bailout, or the auto industry which has gone running to Washington for a handout.

In the past few weeks, I have listened to both the Secretary of Agriculture and the head of HSUS speak about what farmers need to do. Yet, neither has a true understanding of the reality of farm life or what motivates a farmer to do what he does.

Today there are many critics of agriculture who say they know what farmers need to do when it comes to the environment, animal care, and food safety.

What they do not understand is that farmers know what they need to do and are perfectly capable of doing it - if left alone.

One of the biggest dangers facing agriculture today is that of being regulated and micro-managed from Washington or by the court of media-influenced public opinion. Whether it is animal rights, conservation, or environmental stewardship, farm people will do what is right, and necessary if provided a chance to do it.

Too often the recommendations made by policymakers, or documentary filmmakers, are totally unrealistic and practically impossible. Many times they are short-term fixes based on the “crisis du jour.”

Not to suggest that farmers are not accountable to the government or society, they are. Most farmers I know have no problem adhering to certain standards of animal welfare, food safety, environmental sustainability, and the like. It is when those standards don’t make sense, or are actually counterproductive, that real farm folks have a problem. Unfortunately, many of the in-vogue recommendations on energy, the environment, and animal care fall into this category.

So, next time you hear someone blowing off about what needs to be done in agriculture, check to see if there is any dirt under his or her fingernails, or if there is a light in their eyes when they talk about the farm, or when they last spent some quality time with real farm folks.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.