Quite often letters are delivered to the Extension Center by mistake. Since we are a county office that helps farmers, we often receive letters addressed to North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, or Natural Resources Conservation Service.

You can imagine my surprise yesterday when we received a letter addressed to Santa Claus. I guess the postman put it in our box because it was addressed simply -- To: Santa, From: A Farmer.

Since it was the day before Christmas, I figured that even if I put it back in the mail it would not have time to get to Santa before he left for his annual mission. I have always tried to help Robeson County farmers, so I opened the letter to see if there was anything I could do. I was so moved by what I read that I wanted to share it with you.

Dear Santa,

I have been a good farmer this year. I have cared for the soil, protected the waterways, taken real good care of my farm animals, and nurtured the plants in my fields. I have helped my neighbors whenever they needed help, even when I was very busy and things went undone on my farm.

I have tried to spend extra time with my family, but too many times, there were so many things that needed to be done on the farm that I was not able to get to the house until well after dark. I wanted to give them some quality time during the year, but there was not enough money for a real vacation. And besides, I couldn't seem to catch up enough to take a few days off anyway.

I have tried to take better care of myself, but all the stress during the past year and too many lunches of Pepsi and nabs is beginning to affect my health. I'm not complaining to you, and I haven't told my wife, because she worries so much. I feel it is my responsibility to do whatever needs to be done to keep from losing this farm that has been in my family for five generations.

I know you will be very busy during Christmas delivering all the things that everyone has asked for. But if it is not too much trouble, I would like to ask for a few things. I am not asking just for me. I am asking for all my farmer friends here in Robeson County who need them as much as I do.

Can you bring a little better weather for the coming year? You know, a growing season that starts off with good, warm soils, so the seeds will germinate early. Let the summer be warm but not so hot the corn twists up in the fields. It would be nice if you would bring plenty of rain, so the crops will grow real good. But we need it a little at the time instead of those gully washers that erode all the topsoil into the Lumber River.

What we really need is better prices for the crops we grow. We appreciate that you feed your reindeer with the grain we produce and you wear that warm, red suit made from cotton we grow. But since you have an international business, we need your help to get our products shipped to other nations. Food is our major export, but it seems our government is doing all it can to let farmers from other countries sell what they grow for less than it costs us to produce ours.

As you visit every house in America on Christmas Eve, please help all those consumers understand that it is the American farmer who provides the food they eat, the clothes they wear, and the houses they live in. They have gotten to the point they don't seem to care about us anymore. They seem to take for granted that there would always be an abundance of good, healthy food even if we go out of business.

It would be a big help if you could make our neighbors that are not farmers be a little bit more understanding. They seem to want to live in our communities and enjoy the peace and serenity of the rural areas, but they don't seem to realize that these rural areas are where crops and animals are produced. There are times when our equipment will make noise late into the night as we plant, cultivate, or harvest our crops. There are certain odors associated with farming that you don't usually smell in the city. There may be a little dust at times, but this is necessary. And we have to move our equipment from farm to farm, and we have no other choice than to use the public highways.

I could use a new tractor, but I will try to make it one more year with the one I have. I would like to have a new truck like the one my neighbor who works in town has. He doesn't really need one, but he thinks it's cool to drive a pickup. But the truck I have will do just fine, because it would be a shame to get a new truck muddy and all scratched up.

I hope you have a good Christmas, and I hope you can help make things better for my friends and me. We would really like to still be farming when you come back next year.

Your friend,

A Robeson County Farmer

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 12/21/09