An Indiana farmer shares what he loves about agriculture ahead of National Ag Day
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
With National Ag Day about one month away, Farms.com will be connecting with some American farmers to find out why they love farming.
Josh Boxell and his wife Beth are the sixth generation to farm on land belonging to Beth’s family. Their three children – Hunter, Lilly and Oliver, live on the grain farm too in Kokomo, Ind.
He loves farming for the same reasons his kids do.
“They love it because they get to see things grow after they put work into it, they love seeing the harvest and they love being able to come to work with me in the tractor,” he told Farms.com. “When I think about it, those are some of the reasons I love it too.”
Boxell’s love for farming started at a young age.
As a kid he spent time on his grandfather’s farm.
When it came time to transition the farm to Boxell’s father, however, his dad decided not to pursue farming.
Boxell went to college with the intent of going down a different career path. It’s while in college he met Beth, whose father approached him about joining the farm operation.
“I never thought I’d end up back in farming,” he said. “My wife and I dropped everything we were doing to join the farm and it’s been an amazing experience ever since.”
When working in the field, Boxell experiences multiple emotions.
These include pride and a sense of fulfillment, he said.
“With anything you do you want to be proud of the work you’ve put in,” he said. “When I harvest my crops and look back on all the steps we took to get to that point, I’m always proud to have done my best to raise the best crop I could.”
The fulfillment aspect comes from working with others.
A successful crop means multiple members of the ag community were involved, he said.
“We as farmers can’t do what we do without our seed and fertilizer representatives,” he said. “We need mechanics to help with equipment and agronomists to help with recommendations. I really like the community aspect of farming and there’s a lot of satisfaction that comes from understanding we’re all working together.”
Telling Farms.com why you love farming could win you a prize pack.
Until March 22 at 11:59PM, a social media post on the @FarmsNews Twitter account with the hashtag #ForTheLoveofFarming and includes a photo or video explaining why you love farming, automatically enters you into a draw for a prize package worth $250.
Winners will be announced on March 28.