And on the Eighth Day, God Looked Down on His Planned Paradise and Said, I Need a Caretaker

Many of you may be familiar with So God Made a Farmer poem written by Paul Harvey and presented 1978 National FFA Convention in Kansas City, MO. This poem is an inspiration from his great work dedicated to agriculture teachers.

And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer.
And God looked further and knew he needed someone to teach that farmer…God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, feed cows, work all day in the classroom, feed cows again, eat supper, then go back to school and stay up past midnight working on record books with students to earn their American Farmer Degree.” So God made an ag teacher.
“I need somebody with arms strong enough to wrestle a calf and yet gentle enough to pat his students on their back in times of great joy and times of sorrow. Somebody loud enough to quiet the rowdy, keen enough to tame the crazy, sincere enough to motivate the lazy, inspired enough to challenge the talented and passionate enough to care about all those students and mean it.” Someone who could love these students like their own. So God made an ag teacher.
God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt and watch it die, then dry her eyes and say, ‘Maybe next year,’ Then head off to school and teach students how to: weld a bead, write a speech, drive a nail, plant a seed and measure a tree. Someone who can teach them how to lead a meeting, balance a feed ration, and design a landscape for the community center. Teachthem how to survey the land, wire a home, fix a tractor, and manage a farm. So God made an ag teacher.

God needed someone to teach students how trade a commodity, analyze the markets, treat a sick calf,create a corsage, manage the greenhouse and still give a steady diet of daily life lessons. Lessons like, “It will feel better when it quits hurting.” So God made an ag teacher.

God had to have somebody willing to drive students all over the country just for them to judge livestock, inspect a milker unit, grade meat, candle eggs, evaluate soil, and identify trees. God needed someone who could teach students to take one sniff of silage and grade it, to taste one sip of milk and determine it’s flaw, and to look at 40 cuts of meat and identify them all. Someone stern enough to keep these young people in line and fun enough to share some of the best stories their young ears will ever hear. Outspoken enough to be heard in a crowd and eloquent enough to speak out in a room full of leaders. So God made an ag teacher.

God said I need someone who can push a shy bright eyed freshmen out of hershell to recite the FFA Creed, coach a cocky senior for his State Proficiency interview and build young leaders. Someone who can instill pride in young people, make blue corduroy feel cool, someone who knows the meaning and value of “Official Dress”. God needed someone teaching students to know how to keep or cull, buy or sell, till or no till, fish or cut bait. So God made an ag teacher.

God wanted someone who without thinking will drive 20 miles out of the way to deliver food to families in need, who will “play Santa” with fruit baskets and reach out to the community when it needs it most. Someone who will lead coat drives, food drives, oil drives, tires drives and give until there’s no more to give. Someone who makes every experience for students one that they will never forget and one that will shape their future. So God made an ag teacher.

God knew it had to be somebody who’sright there encouraging, pushing, pulling, guiding, leading, prodding, dragging and cheering these young people to excellence, Who will stand and defend them at the drop of a hat but interrogate them the next minute to get to the bottom of the situation. Someone who will take great pride in watching students come in as children and leave ready to be adults. Someone who grieves with families when young lives are cut short, heartbroken yet strong enough to help kids make sense of the worst situations and gives them a place to cry. Somebody whohas the charisma to bring a group of students together like a family with the soft, strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh, and then sigh and then reply with smiling eyes whenthier students saythat they are proud of to be a part of agriculture and FFA. “So God made an ag teacher.”

Their hearts are big, their giving endless, their eyes tired, their step lively, their attitude optimistic, their style humble, and their pride limitless.