Why I’ll always choose AGRICULTURE
Written by Saydie Wyrick
To keep the story short but to give some backstory, in the beginning of September, both my grandparents ended up in the hospital with Covid. This was all occurring while my mom and brother were at the Indiana Stock Show, and my dad and I had other curriculars to tend to and were hopefully going down later that week. As the days progressed, my grandpa was lifelined to Indy to get access to a ventilator. My grandma, however, was improving until that night. I won’t go into details, but on September 5, 2021 she passed away. To make matters even worse my grandpa’s mother (my great grandma) also passed away, all while he was still on a ventilator. Seeing your own father breakdown after losing two very important women in his life and potentially his father is something I never want to experience again. However, I am so grateful to say my grandpa is still with us and is doing extremely well despite all the trauma and loss he experienced.
Agriculture may be the backbone of America, but who knew in September of 2021 it would be the one thing that would hold my family together. Starting my senior year of high school, I was looking forward to dragging my hogs to all the fall shows, playing on the soccer field, and figuring out what my future holds. God had a different plan; it would result with me experiencing the lowest point in my life.
So how does this story of losing a loved one tie to agriculture being my family and I’s backbone? Simple. It is the common dominator that we all would turn to lean on to support us in the situation we were enduring. Agriculture is in our everyday lives. Dad’s job consists of anything and everything a farmer does and needs to complete. When my brother and I aren’t in school, it consists of tending to the hogs. Mom has a day off of working her office job or even after work hours, she is doing any task around the farm that needs to be completed. Even when a huge aspect of our operation got affected, agriculture was still there for us to rely on. Yes, we were still working when all of us were grieving, but this is what they all would’ve have wanted us to do and what we wanted to do. My family and I eat, sleep, and breathe this industry. So did my grandparents and generations beyond. Whenever you need something, this industry is always willing to give something back. At that moment in my family’s life, it gave us a sense of ease, hope, and calmness knowing the industry will remain with us.
To me, home doesn’t consist of four walls and a roof. Home involves the individuals that rally in the support of others, and a community that is always willing to give back more than they receive. That is the definition of the agriculture industry. In a time of grief and loss, this industry was our saving grace. The ag industry is forever my family and I’s backbone and home.
Saydie Wyrick
Written by
Purdue sophomore in Animal Sciences with a concentration in Production and Industry