Though a tough economy has forced many in agriculture out of business, farmers should take heart in the fact that many of their ancestors faced similar problems and overcame them.
Don Gale, vice president of public affairs for KSL Television, told a full house at Thursday night's 1992 Utah County Farm Bureau Annual Banquet that farmers have always had struggles with governmental regulations, weather and pest control and environmentalists. The banquet was held in the ballroom at Utah Valley Community College.Farm bureau officials honored four of the group's 2,500 members during the banquet for their longevity in the face of continuing uphill struggles.
Fortunately, the farmers have "strength in numbers" because of organizations like Utah County Farm Bureau, Gale said. "There you find that the problems you have are not that different from the problems anyone else has had or has solved."
Also, as farmers solve those problems, they may come to look at hard times with fondness, he said.
"In times like these, it helps to remember there were always times like these. In a few years, these will be the good old days."
Gale said folk humorist Will Rogers detailed many farmers' troubles in his monologues, and that much good has come since then.
"Look at what has happened since Will Rogers' day," he said. "The point is we've done okay. We haven't solved all our problems, but we've been able to solve quite a few."
For instance, Gale said the average lifespan for a U.S. citizen has increased nearly 20 years since Rogers' time, and that soon there will be so many citizens age 100 or older "they could populate a large city."
Some of those improvements have come with progress made by farmers, he said. "We have better food for our citizens because of you."
While Gale admitted he is not experienced in farming, he said the majority of non-farming Utahns are envious of farmers and would like to "know what it's like to make your living from the land."
Last year, in commemoration of the farm bureau federation's 75th anniversary, the organization held searches for those with the longest memberships and those with the county's longest-running farm.
Though the group's winners in each category only won honorable mentions in the statewide competition, the Utah County organization decided to honor the individuals because of their dedication to farming.
Tying for longest memberships were James D. Garner, Payson, and George Atwood, Spanish Fork.
Garner, 90, has been a farm bureau member for 74 years and still does work on his farm.
"I don't know what I've done to deserve this honor," Garner said during the group's annual banquet. "All I've done is gone from having three or four cows to having a few hundred now. But I thank you for remembering me."
Atwood has also been a member for 74 years and stays young by "getting out on a horse every once in awhile," according to farm bureau board member Calvin Crandall, who presented the awards.
There was also a tie for the longest-running farms, with both Lawrence Smith and Neal Christensen picking up honors for their 142-year-old farms.
Smith said he was indebted to his grandparents, who homesteaded the land in 1850. "A lot of hard work went into starting that farm so we could enjoy it today. I'm just glad I could carry on the tradition."
Smith also joked that he planned on passing the land on to his three sons, so "we may break that record yet."
Also honored was farm bureau insurance agent Mark Westphal, who signed up 216 new members during 1991.
The group's president said the honorees do the farm bureau a great service with their work, as do the state's approximately 13,000 farmers.
"I'm proud of the farmers in this state for their part in the agricultural production machine," Dick Burr said. "They and other farmers across the country help in stimulating $2.3 billion worth of economic activity every day. This makes them the envy of all the people in the world."