The ancient Roman politician and orator Cicero said of farming, “For of all gainful professions, nothing is better, nothing is more pleasing, nothing is more delightful, nothing better becomes a well-bred man than agriculture.”
The quote reminds me of this rather new term I came across a year ago called the “gentleman farmer.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a gentleman farmer as “a man who farms mainly for pleasure rather than for profit.” But I would extend the definition to include men like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Both held vast amounts of land and relied on their estates for income. However, they were not exclusively farmers and pursued lives of public service and held many other interests and hobbies besides their farms.
I'd like to think I can enter this realm and crown myself amongst the ranks of gentleman farmers. I'm building it out slowly. I bought three chickens almost six months ago and have kept them alive and have only chased one opossum out of their coop, praise God. My wife has her horses and we have successfully grown vegetables and herbs in our small backyard garden. As we begin to build our new house on a decent plot of land my brain will continue to dream up what livestock to bring in next. Where to plant the gardens, the fruit trees, a new horse arena too maybe? I'm not sure.
But I am sure as to why I love hobby farming as a gentleman farmer. Work is important but it's not supposed to be a passion. Those who are passionate about what they do for work are few and far between. And that's normal. That said, my work is important to me but it puts me in offices and in front of a computer for a large chunk of my day. I'm not passionate about that much time infant of a screen and I know I need to balance that out with exercise and fresh air. If I can get fresh eggs, pork, vegetables from tending to animals before and after work, and building gardens, that's great. Learning animal husbandry and gardening are skills that I'd like to pass along to my kids rather than how to crank out a spreadsheet or organize a Zoom call. Plus think of all the English countryside style clothes I'll start to collect as my hobby farm grows. Win win.
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