A while ago, eHarmony came out with an article entitled 15 Reasons to Date a Farmer. As I was reading through the 15 reasons, I was literally laughing out loud. The article was EXTREMELY stereotypical. So I figured I'd amend the article a little bit, make it a little more REAL rather than fantasy land like eHarmony has it sound.
The truth is, if you read my 10 Ways Marrying a Farmer Changes Your Life, that dating a farmer is hard. It isn't this happy fantasy land like eHarmony has you believe. Yes, love is amazing and can do great things for you in life and I LOVE my farmer with every ounce of my being. But that doesn't change the fact that some days, it is hard and a lot more reality filled than eHarmony wants us to believe.
Here are the 15 Reasons to Date a Farmer according to eHarmony:
1. They aren't afraid of putting down roots. In fact, your farmer is probably already based somewhere -- with long-term plans to stay there.
2. Farmers are fit, toned and tanned. The "tanned" part might only apply to their forearms. But those forearms are great. (This is where I started laughing... I mean, really? If anything farmers are some of the un-healthiest eaters I know. They spend the majority of their day in a tractor cab, eating on the go, and get very little sleep. That doesn't equate to "fit, toned, and tanned".)
3. Many farmers subscribe to good ol' fashioned family values -- and will be proud to treat you with gentleness and respect.
4. There's something sexy about working the land, cultivating plants and raising beef that nourish a nation. Your stomach will benefit.
5. It's trendy to be eco-aware. Your farmer is as close to being "one with the land" as they come.
6. Free tractor rides.
7. Farmers are traditionally loyal and protective.
8. The rural lifestyle provides plenty of fresh air, vitamin D, and panoramic views with zero skyscrapers in sight.
9. You can visit your date at work -- if you don't mind getting manure on your shoes.
10. Farmers are essentially small business owners. They must have both brains and brawn to keep their farm running successfully.
11. Farmers are community players, often helping out neighboring farms when another farmer is struggling to get their crops in on time.
12. Most farmers want to keep the farm in the family. Thus, they want children.
13. Farmers work hard every single day of the year without complaint. (Here is another one where I literally laughed out loud. Here's the reality. Farmers complain A LOT. It rains too much, it doesn't rain, it freezes. It takes being a good listener and being a glass half full person to love a farmer and that's just reality.)
14. Farmers don't live in condos. (No they don't, but any gal can attest to the fact that I am not so sure old dilapidated farm houses aren't much better...)
15. Farmers are trustworthy. If a few dozen cattle can trust the farmer with their lives, surely your date can handle responsibility.
Here are 15 REAL Reasons to Date a Farmer according to Prairie Californian: :
1. Yes, eHarmony, many farmers subscribe to good ol' fashioned family values, but not all will put you on a pedestal. Some will view you as an equal partner in the relationship where you will be working just as hard.
2. There IS something sexy about working the land and cultivating plants, I mean Kenny Chesney even sings about how she finds his tractor sexy... but my farmer doesn't directly feed my stomach. Instead he brings home "the bread" in another sense so that we can live a comfortable life. And there is nothing wrong with that.
3. Farmers do indeed have roots where they are settled and usually have long-term plans to stay there, but I wouldn't necessarily see this as a reason to date a farmer. Being someone who moved because I fell in love with a farmer, it's a hard sacrifice to give up your life where you are now and move because the farmer you are dating is rooted where he is. And you've got to be ready to face that. Of course, it can end up being a blessing in disguise, but it doesn't take away the fact it is tough.
4. Cooking for a farmer during harvest season will challenge your creativity in the kitchen. In some of the comments after the article, a few women were talking about how farmers are usually meat and potatoes guys and won't challenge them in the kitchen. Trying to prepare meals on the go for months on end WILL test your creativity in the kitchen to the fullest. Eventually, I think we all give up and sandwiches it is!
5. The rural lifestyle DOES provide you with fresh air, vitamin D, and panoramic views, but it is one of the hardest things you will do. It takes a lot of planning because the grocery store is miles and miles away and guess what, you can't just stop there after work, it takes constant cleaning because your house is always dusty or your farmer is always tracking in mud or dirt, it takes doing some of the dirtiest laundry you will ever do in your life because your farmer comes home covered in manure, and it takes learning to do things on your own without your significant other because guess what, he/she will be gone a lot.
6. You can visit your date at work. And you can help them at work. But it's a fine line to walk before your farmer will start expecting your help and teaching you how to do things like drive tractor.
7. Farmers ARE small business owners and as any small business owner knows, it does require brains and brawn but it also carries A TON of stress. This constant worry will be there always and stress is something you come to live with on a day-to-day basis. Even though we can plan out our year on paper, there is a lot of uncertainty in farming. Lots of things can happen that will cause failures. If you can't handle uncertainty, dating a farmer may not be for you.
8. Okay, so eHarmony hit this one right on the nail... Farmers are community players and they DO help out a neighbor in need. That is 100 percent true no matter where you live. Farmers understand the struggle and are always willing to help a fellow farmer in need.
9. You will learn something new every day. Farmers are a wealth of knowledge about the land, the history of the land, plants, crops, and all sorts of other interesting things. You will learn so much about the ins and outs of farming, even from just dating a farmer. Embrace it and soak up as much knowledge as you can!
10. Dating a farmer will teach you independence and strength. If you are the least bit co-dependent, dating a farmer will be the hardest relationship you will ever have. They work long hours, miss lots of suppers (or dinners), and rely on you to be independent and get things done while they are gone.
11. Farmers may not live in condos, but they do most of the time live in, or at least start in, old farmhouses that are usually quirky, not updated, and come with their own challenges. If you go from living a luxurious city life to old farmhouse, it could be quite a culture shock. It will be a constant work in progress (as any house will be) so be prepared to take on a challenge or save for the future and your forever home.
12. Farmers spend money. They spend lots of money. For those who are financially conscious, it may be tough to find yourself in a relationship where money goes away just as easy as it comes in. What's that saying...? Give a farmer a dollar and he'll spend two. Yep, totally true. The grain markets, the animal markets, and all other things in agriculture are forever changing. The potential to make a ton of money is just as easy to lose a ton of money. Farming can be a gamble and let's hope you've got luck on your side.
13. Dating a farmer will teach you to learn to love the unpredictable. Not making plans or not sticking to a plan is the way of life for a farmer, anything can change at a moment's notice. It just may be that you will be woken up in the middle of the night because something goes wrong or you've got to go out and check cows that are waiting to calf.
14. Farmers know how to get anywhere and everywhere and are usually great with directions. Is the road closed? No problem, farmers know every inch of back roads and dirt roads so they can get you where you want to go, even if it means driving through the section line of a field.
15. Dating a farmer will change your life. Plain and simple, it WILL change you. In so many ways. In my 10 ways, that's just a few off a huge list of ways your life will change. But I can guarantee, the faster you just accept and embrace the change, the easier it will become. As with any relationship, it's about compromise. And dating a farmer is no exception to that.
So there you go. My 15 REAL reasons to date a farmer. What do you think of eHarmony's list? Do you all have anything else to add?