So God made a farmer

Photo: The Korson, Popp, Walter, Houdek, Kolarik, and Herman families have farmed in Leelanau for generations.

By Rebecca G Carlson

Sun contributor

And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker”

— so God made a Farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board”

— so God made a Farmer.

“I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild; somebody to call hogs, [and] tame cantankerous machinery”

— so God made a Farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt, and watch it die, then dry his eyes and say, ‘Maybe next year.’ I need somebody who can…shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of haywire; who, planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty-hour week by Tuesday noon, and then pain’n from tractor back, put in another seventy-two hours”

— so God made a Farmer…

Award-winning radio broadcasting icon Paul Harvey delivered the impactful words of this speech, “So God made a Farmer,” to the Future Farmers of America convention in Kansas City, Missouri in 1978. (Click here to read the full address.) This extraordinary speech made the listener pause while underscoring the collective importance of nurturing and embracing our farming communities across America. Surprisingly, the simple, poignant words of the speech were not written by Paul Harvey. Mr. Harvey acknowledged he could not take credit for writing “So God Made a Farmer” as it was crafted from an unsigned letter mailed to his radio show. While it served as a gentle reminder during the Carter-Era to appreciate our “caretaking” farmers, in 2024 this can no longer be just a temperate reminder; the need to protect and prevent the extinction of the American Farmer is paramount.

The agrarian world is under attack across every continent. The largest farming protests have occurred in France, England, India, Germany, Eastern Europe, and The Netherlands. Politicians with a climate agenda are assaulting the one group of people whose chief mission it has been to cultivate, nurture, and protect the land, farmers. In the words of Italian farmer, Cristian Belloni, “Agriculture has been on its knees for a long time, and we have reached the end of our rope” (PBS.org). Hostilities have increased in the European Union, England, and India as bureaucrats are egregiously enforcing greedy agendas that destroy the livelihoods of the small, family farmers across the world. Thanks in large part to social media posts uploaded by amateur reporters across the globe, everyone is able to witness, in real time, the burgeoning farming protests. These demonstrations express the pure frustration of farmers being unfairly targeted by their governments. According to Voice of America, “…[M]any of France’s small and medium-sized farmers are becoming poorer by the year. Over half-a-century, the number of farms has plummeted, from 1.5 million to about 456,000 [in 2024]. Roughly one-quarter of growers live under the poverty line, and suicide rates are high according to…INSEE” (the Institute of Economic Statistics in France) (Bryant).

Farmers in Leelanau County are facing similar burdens to their European counterparts which range from encroaching forces on freedom, higher taxes, as well as unfair and excessive assessments for farmland, machinery, fertilizers, and fuel all indispensable components to managing a farm. Along with higher costs to manage a farm, fruit processing plants have disappeared from the local landscape. In 2024, there is only one small fruit processor left on the Leelanau Peninsula. According to Martin Korson, there is “no [storage] for the fruit being harvested.” Julius pointed out the irony, “We have more people [in the world] to feed [and] we cannot…[process] a crop.” As space is limited for the fruit being harvested, the farmer makes the difficult decision to leave his fruit on the trees or shake to the ground, thus losing a year’s worth of backbreaking work. Leelanau County farmer Julius Kolarik recalled a time when farming protests were closer to home. “Farmers [were] picketing Frigid Foods for low prices on the cherry crop in the 1960s.” This forced local farmers to make the untenable decision to either shake the cherries to the ground as they could not recoup the money needed to cover the costs of growing the crop or sell to Frigid Foods at a loss.

As I sat down with a gathering of six local Leelanau farmers in the hall of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church for what turned out to be an almost three-hour interview, the deep bonds of respect and friendship between these local men and women, while unarticulated, were nonetheless evident and profound. The shared stories ranged from legacies of a farmer, lessons learned, fond memories, challenges facing farmers and their community, weather concerns, technologies that improved and reduced the backbreaking work of farming, celebrations, and a few words of kindly wisdom and hope for the future of farming in Leelanau County.

“…God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it…” (KJV Genesis 1:28). Local apple, cherry, and honeybee farmer Julius Kolarik reminded the group of a shared purpose to “subdue the earth.” These words are not license to ravage and despoil the natural riches of the earth but to empower the farmer with responsible stewardship and development of the land. In order to forge a survivable and thriving community for all, the farmer is the catalyst of each community where they provide the foundation and tools so people can survive, raise families, while growing food and feeding the next generation. For the ancestors of these six farmers: Korson, Popp, Walter, Houdek, Kolarik, and Herman, all members of sesquicentennial farming families of the area, this meant taming the wilderness, cultivating the land while protecting its’ health and productivity. In essence, farmers are the original environmental protectors before it became a national headline with the caché of celebrity support. For millennia, the farmer has dealt with changeable and destructive weather; they dig their hands into the earth in an attempt at understanding what the soil needs to be productive; the farmer intimately knows the smell, the texture, and yes, the taste of the soil. They get their hands dirty while tilling, planting, and cultivating the earth for the benefit of everyone. According to PBS journalist Ali Rogan, “European moderates and environmentalists…[are pushing an agenda] that agriculture is a major driver of climate change…” This is patently false. No matter the destructive or gentle weather, America’s small, family farmers are the ultimate ambassadors of climate health, promoting the earth’s well-being and protecting our environment.

Farming is “a way of life. To get up in the morning [with] fresh air, hear the chickens crow, [and experience] the changing seasons” is a blessing according to Martin Korson. Julius Kolarik added, “When we were little kids, [you] had to get up, milk cows, curry the horses, come back eat breakfast and then head out to school, repeating the same routine after school.” Betty (Houdek) Popp shared her memories of growing up on the Houdek farm. “I would get up before school and milk the cows…On Saturdays we girls cleaned the barn.” Both Martin and Betty agreed the most important lesson learned from parents while growing up on the farm was “hard work.” At times, it was “rough and tough growing up” on a farm; however, Julius added, it fostered the work ethic and industriousness that made all six successful as farming families. Successful farming does not necessarily translate to a large yearly income with multiple vacation houses, multiple cars, and a retirement fund. What I learned during this conversation over coffee and pumpkin donuts from Gallagher’s Farm Market was that success for these individuals meant being free to raise their families, crops, attend worship with fellow farmers and neighbors, provide whole, locally grown food not only for their families but the community that they help feed. They smile, keep their heads down while working hard, never complaining. Betty added, “Even with the hard work of [growing up] on the farm, life on the farm was [and still] is good.” Her husband Rich Popp added, “I have always loved farming…I love it.”

In asking what any of them would revisit in their childhood of growing up on the farm, the collective answer was the freedom to roam the land as well as attending the community gatherings such as Threshing and Husking Bee Parties. Donnie Herman, Martin Korson, Julius Kolarik, and Rich Popp all commented that they remembered being able to fish anywhere they wanted when growing up. As local farm children, they didn’t worry about crossing anyone’s land; farmers did not post “No Trespassing” signs to keep others off the property or prevent them from dropping a line in a creek or stream. There was general freedom to wander the land and explore. They felt that the “No Trespassing” signs are a result of new transplants to the area who “fence it up and post it,” according to Betty and Martin. Meaning that the transplants to the area fence the yards and post the “No Trespassing” signs everywhere as soon as they purchase the land. Betty offered, “It’s not so friendly anymore.” All six were at a loss questioning the new transplants to the area who complain about the farm noises, spraying of the fruit trees, and farm equipment on the roads. They didn’t understand why someone would choose to live in the bountiful agrarian world of Leelanau County and complain about the agricultural tools needed to keep it agrarian.

According to journalist Tyler Durden, “It’s time to restore the power back into small farms and break the stranglehold of mega-corporations over the food supply chain, which has become increasingly harmful to both our health and the environment.” Donnie Herman plainly stated, the “government is not helping the farmer,” it’s hurting them. The group agreed which reflects the concerns of farmers across the globe. Even in the face of adversity, Betty Popp and Martin Korson offered words of hope. Betty ardently stated, “Cherries will come back.” Martin added while it has been difficult to survive on year-after-year of low crop prices, we “diversify to survive,” echoing the same sentiments of sweet corn farmer Kurt Kolenski. At the end of the interview, I was simply in awe of these incredibly humble, hardworking, selfless guardians of our land and community.