I was watching the 10 o'clock news tonight when one of the "headlines" caught my attention. They were talking about how a farmer that came across some medical problems in the last few weeks, ended up getting his crop harvested by a group of neighbors pooling together and working to get it done. With the 14 combines, they were able to complete the harvest in a day. The reporter made mention as to how rare it is to see such a feat.

I started thinking about that, and realized that's not exactly true. When the chips are down, the ag community pulls together frequently. The only difference is, most of the time it happens without calling in a camera crew and team of reporters to cover it. Neighbors quietly come in, finish the work and leave, without giving it a second thought.

Where else, but in the ag community, would you see such a thing happening?

I'm pretty sure that I won't be seeing any footage of a team of 30 doctors pooling together to complete a colleagues full-day schedule of physicals because one of them found out he needed by-pass surgery. No, outside of agriculture, for the most-part there are sick days built in. Days where you're still guaranteed not to lose money if you take care of yourself.

That's not the case in agriculture. If you can't get your crop harvested, you don't get paid...again, for the most-part, there is an exception to every rule. If you don't harvest a crop this year, it's pretty hard to plant one next spring, and your career as a farmer will probably end.

That's why I thank God every day that we are who we are...farmers, ranchers. We live in a place and work in a profession where neighbors take care of neighbors, knowing that the same will be done for them if ever needed. Hardships are felt not by families alone, but by the communities as a whole.

You see the work being done in the fields, on the farm, with the cattle, the sheep or any other livestock. Needs are met, the work is completed and farms are saved.

It may have made the news tonight, but I guarantee that somewhere, some place, it will happen again tomorrow.