Dear Editor:

 The Op-Ed piece titled “Food for the Soul” (Aug. 22) misrepresents agriculture today.  I am a 5^th generation family farmer and I have first-hand, present-day knowledge of how a farm works.  I farm because I love what I do, I love caring for my livestock, my land and providing safe food for my family, and your family.

Modern technology empowers farmers to better protect our environment and livestock so the next generation will be able to live off the land.  Our goal is to leave our farm in better shape than we received it.  Our farm is the lifeline of our family, and our nation.  American farmers use technology on their farms to feed a growing population, we are an important part of solving hunger in our world today, and we take that responsibility seriously.  Farming is a labor of love, no matter what size your farm is.  Not only are our souls embedded in our farms, so are our hearts.

We don’t pollute the environment; we drink the same water and breathe the same air as our neighbors.  We are the people who go out in the middle of the night to check on a cow giving birth.  We are the people who miss our children’s school play because there is a sow that needs our help to give birth.  We are the people who miss our son’s little league game because there is a rain coming and the hay needs to be baled.  On Christmas morning, our livestock are fed before our children open presents. Are these the acts of people with no souls? Our spirit embodies and our families personify the livelihood you brand as soul-less.

Farming today doesn’t look like it did 40 years ago when Mr. Kristof was growing up.  An important reason for this is because each American farmer is feeding more people today than we did 40 years ago -- 155 compared to 73 -- and we are doing it on less land.  If agriculture is forced to downgrade to practices of 40 years ago, who will decide the 73 people who are allowed to eat and the 82 who are not. Will only the well-off not starve?

Feeding people is my business. It is my calling. It is my belief. The soul of my modern family farm, like many others across our nation, is renewed every day by each ounce of passion, energy and commitment I pour into producing food for our hungry and growing world.

Sincerely,

Chris Chinn