It never fails to make an impression on me when a farmer makes room on the road for my obvious townie Mazda carrying my two up-themselves designer poodles, full of their own self-importance as we head to Lake Wairarapa for a stroll.
People often talk about the mess made by farmers, particularly in relation to dairy farming, and I admit when my Mazda crunches over those inevitable patches in the road where milking cows cross from one paddock, on their way to the shed, I can't help but wonder what all that salty poop is doing to the underside. I could argue these are public roads, which should be poop-free.
But I can't help but wonder and marvel at what is effectively the largest workplace, in physical area, in the Wellington region. I am surrounded by an industry that doesn't stop, and doesn't really have to apologise for working hard. I weigh up the immensity of the rural workplace, and then look at the miserable nuisance of some people in our urban environment, as the new burn-out rubber tracks, on my own street yesterday morning, give testament to. Outside my house, the street sign has received a fresh tag, a reminder to me to break out the white paint again. Who am I to question a bit of poop in a rural environment where a viable industry keeps rolling, when in our own urban areas, we can't fix the real problems?
And yet, as I head through this gigantic workplace, farmers make room for me on the narrow roads. It's a practical courtesy; their 4x4s and tractors are obviously a lot more capable of putting half their wheels on the grass verge than my slow-slung front-wheel drive urban car. I appreciate that, of course. A Mazda 3 is about as off-road as a train without a track. But it's a very friendly courtesy as well, from a working farmer, on his environment, to a Sunday driver, cutting through the workplace.
It is fair we question and police environmental aspects of farming, because an unchecked situation can lead to extremes. But it should never be forgotten that hard work for a worthwhile industry is basically a good thing. Considering the social ills in our towns, I would not be swift to claim the moral high ground when criticising what farmers do.
