Southwest Virginia Hay Field

Today's picture features a hay field near the beautiful southwestern Virginia town of Damascus. Traveling down most any country road in rural America gives one the opportunity to really take a vacation - to get away from the hassles and stresses of the city - to witness a more peaceful and laid-back lifestyle - to see some of the world's most beautiful scenery. And southwestern Virginia has been blessed with more than her share of beautiful scenery.

Nothing symbolizes rural America more than a hay field. A freshly bailed field of hay is a not-so-subtle reminder that our great nation was built on the backs of its farmers. As America was spreading her wings and heading west, the farmers worked from sun-up to sun-down, seven days a week, to put food on their own tables and everyone else's too. And they still do today. In fact, America's farmers are feeding a significant portion of the entire planet's population.

Historically, small family farms have produced the bulk of the nation's agricultural and food products, but that is rapidly changing. Large corporate farms are using their economies of scale to make it difficult for the small-time operators to compete in the marketplace. While this ever growing efficiency helps keep our grocery bills relatively low, it is also leading to the loss of much of the character and substance that is rural America.

All across the land, farm after farm, most of which have been handed down for generations, are being sold off to developers who tear down the barns, rip up the fences and replace them with subdivisions or shopping centers. Many areas that once offered views like the one above now offer views of cookie-cutter houses, strip malls and asphalt. We see it happening here in southwest Virginia on a daily basis. I guess you could say the family farm is on the verge of becoming an endangered species...

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