Growing up on a ranch or farm is never easy to work, especially in this day and age.

The disconnect between producers and consumers have made our jobs even harder, on top of the physical demand the job already requires.

Here are a few things we all know to be true growing up in the agricultural industry.

1. Early mornings are non-negotiable

While most of your friends growing up were getting up for early weightlifting and sports, you were more than likely already up feeding animals, breaking ice, scooping up poop, etc.

A phrase my parents loved to use was, “The animals eat before you eat.”

2. Late nights are also a must

You might be up swathing until 4 a.m., harvesting late into the night, staying up with sick livestock, checking livestock during their birthing season… seriously, these lists can go on for years.

3. People telling you how to do your job need to stop

Nothing is more frustrating when people who have never stepped foot on a farm or ranch try to tell you what to do. Or better yet, nothing is more upsetting when they claim you’re doing terrible things to animals, solely because they don’t understand the science or process behind it.

4. Education is the last thing we lack

People who aren’t involved in the agriculture industry seem to like to stereotype us as uneducated… think "Dukes of Hazard" or "Beverly Hillbillies" type of uneducated.

If you’re a millennial or younger in the agriculture industry, chances are your parents required you to get at least an agriculture science degree before being allowed to take over the operation.

5. We stick with science

The agriculture industry has progressed so fast in the last 50 years, it’s been hard for consumers to keep up. From monitoring crop stress and chemical use with precision agriculture to Expectant Progeny Differences (EPDs), what we are doing today has been proven to be the most effective, eco-friendly, and cost-effective ways of producing food.