#FarmOn

A letter from Robin Ralston:

Have you seen #farmon in your Instagram feed? Well that’s exactly what we’re doing here at Ralston Family Farms. We are farming on and our 2020 rice crop of Jasmine, Basmati, Southern Long Grain, Nature’s Blend, Aromatic Purple and Red are planted and thriving. Their deep jewel colors are striking along the back drop of the Petite Jean Mountain. The plants are big enough now to sway in rhythm when a soft wind blows.This is nature’s dance, rejoicing in renewed opportunities.

Recently, while I was with my husband checking the rice fields the smell of Jasmine wafted up to meet me. One has to put on rubber boots and walk out into the field itself. You know, get up close and personal with the rice. We all know how wonderful it smells when we cook rice and how fulfilling it is when we eat rice, but did you know how the rice smells in the carton is the same as how it smells in the field?

Looking out among the field, I can see a myriad of green, reminding me of Ireland, which is sometimes called the "Land of Green." My family knows that I love all things Irish. It’s in my heritage and in my heart. There is a line in an Irish folk song that says, “ the soft wind blew down the glad and shook the barely”. In our glade it shakes the rice, but it struck me of how reminiscent that line is to the times we are living in now. Our world is being shaken by a wind, however we farmers can’t be shaken. We get up at daylight, go out our front doors and don't come back in until dark thirty so that the people in the country we love will have food to survive, and not just survive but also to thrive. So yes, we #farmon.

As I say, I love all things Irish but more so, I love the Lord. So I’m going to leave you with this Irish Blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

May the rain fall soft upon your fields And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.