Farmers have been around for a long time, and as such, there are a few rules that we all know about them. We know that farmers grow crops, raise livestock like farm names for stardew valley, and produce food for the world to eat. However, there are a few common misconceptions about our farming friends that just do not stand up to scrutiny:
10 rules about farmers which are meant to be broken are:
1. Farmers have dirt under their fingernails
Farmer or not, if you’ve ever had a hobby that involves working with your hands, then you have dirty fingernails. While farmers often do have dirt under their nails, it is simply a result of spending time outside and being physically active in general. Farmers are just as likely to have clean hands, especially if they keep up on personal hygiene.
2. Farmers are generally nice
The truth is that farmers can be just like anyone else – some really nice people and others not so much. As people go, they generally appear friendly to strangers when they are out in public conducting business or running errands. They may have arguments with family members, but they don’t tend to be violent or mean.
3. Farmers are very boring
Farmer or not, nearly every single human on the planet has hobbies that they enjoy doing. In fact, there are people out there who have far too many hobbies to count. As people go, farmers tend to be pretty conservative and inoffensive individuals who do not really have a lot of interests outside of work and family. They also like to watch a lot of sports and read a whole bunch of books about farming.
4. Farmers are all white
Just like any other group of people, there are variations that begin to make an individual stand out against the rest. For example, a farmer can be black, or Hispanic, or Asian. Sure, there are a lot of white farmers – but the same can be said for just about any profession you care to name. It really comes down to coincidence and has nothing to do with skill in one’s chosen profession.
5. Farmers wear overalls and straw hats
It is true that one of the first impressions most people have about farmers is that they tend to dress a certain way – in overalls and straw hats for example. However, this is not an absolute truth either. Overalls and straw hats are fairly easy to find in a number of stores, but this does not mean that all farmers wear them. It also may not be true that farmers all dress the same way, either. As with many other things regarding the farming profession, there are always exceptions to the rule.
6. Farmers live in mud huts
Also true… but most people who have ever visited any number of farms (say without being invited) have seen plenty of houses with wood siding and driveways. In addition, many farms have far too many people working on them to just have a single mud hut – especially when they keep an eye out for invading bears or raiding barbarians!
7. Farmers eat nothing but beans, rice and potatoes
This is not entirely true either. While farmers do eat grains and pulses, they tend to have a wide variety of meats on their menu. Bacon, sausage, steak, turkey, chicken and the like are part of a farmer’s diet just as much as anything else. Even if they do eat all of their food in grain form (like rice), it doesn’t make them any less of a farmer!
8. Farmers drive big trucks
Whether true or not (it’s kind of hard to know), this one is made up too. In fact, most farms have smaller vehicles that can be used for field work. People tend to think of farmers as being big and burly, but even if they were, that would not change the fact that most farm vehicles are not all that huge.
9. Farmers wear overalls and straw hats all the time
This one is also untrue. While they might wear them when they go out in public doing business or other things, a farmer’s day-to-day outfit is likely to be anything but a straw hat and overalls. Instead, he or she can be seen wearing shirts with plaid patterns (or other patterns), vests or jackets and trousers with patches on them or embroidery work on the pockets – much like any other type of person you might see in everyday society.
10. Farmers are always happy with what they have
This is also untrue. Just like any other job, farmers have times and seasons in which they feel down about things. In fact, being a farmer can be very hard work and it is not always easy to be sure that you are making enough money to provide for your family. Even the best farmers aren’t always satisfied, which is why there are those who work hard at farming because they want to make better lives for themselves and their families.
Conclusion:
By no means does this list cover every single misconception about farmers, but these particular ones should be considered when it comes to telling stories about or with farmers in them (even if these stories take place a few hundred years ago).
