(this is just a joke - of course farmwork still has physically demanding parts)

  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    For everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another hundred out there who weigh a hundred and thirty pounds—and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling seventy-five pounds of marijuana across the desert.

    ~ U.S. Representative Steve King (R-IA) in 2013.

  • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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    7 days ago

    I get it’s a joke, but… The strapping-est kids I knew growing up were farm kids. Throwing hay bales gets you jacked. I have also driven the air-conditioned tractor around all day though too.

    • Bo7a@piefed.ca
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      6 days ago

      This is also happening less and less as farms consolidate under disadventure capitalists. I’m in my late 40s, and the town I went to highschool in was the type to have 2 weeks off at harvest and seeding time because so many kids had to go out and help on the farm.

      Last year they did not have any time off for that because only one family was left actually working their farms, the rest are working them for a corp and the corp hires transient labour to do the heavy work.

  • FatherPeanut@pawb.social
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    6 days ago

    I know its a joke, but man I just bailed hay yesterday and I’m really feeling it. My nephew had his first time bailing, fella looks like a bit of a twig, and I could tell he was struggling with it. As is usual, I had to pickup the slack, just as my family did when I was new to bailing as a kid. Bet he can’t wait until the next field is ready next week.

  • rumba@lemmy.zip
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    6 days ago

    I dated a farm girl for a few years. Up hours before sunrise, you’re always lugging some large container/bag of something or making a million trips to handle it. None of them mechanize everything. It’s way easier than the dumb tractor days but it’s still no f’ing joke.

    • melsaskca@lemmy.ca
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      6 days ago

      That’s how I took it. I’m curious as to what percentage of folk saw the duplicate “wouldn’t”?

      • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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        5 days ago

        Duplicating the last word of the first line in an image macro is a meme that started spreading in the last few years. It’s barely even noticeable because of how used you get to it.

  • Zink@programming.dev
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    6 days ago

    I’m in the best shape I’ve been in about 2 decades, and you know what my hobbies have been since spring of last year?

    Amateur farmer, construction worker, and landscaper. And I guess mechanic too, to a lesser extent.

    I live in a pretty standard suburban US neighborhood of single family homes, but my little fenced-in back yard is an active construction zone rather than a patch of grass.

    My oasis is coming along pretty well. I can’t wait to share it with those around me once it’s more presentable.

      • Zink@programming.dev
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        5 days ago

        Some parts of it, especially my pond, are an area where I’ve done a ton of DIY and learning and designing from first principles or close to it, and where other hobbyists often need help. So I’ve taken photos along the way and have pondered making videos at simmer point.

        That might actually happen, but my number of projects in flight right now is kind of ridiculous, lol.

        • WizardofFrobozz@lemmy.ca
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          5 days ago

          If you ever put those videos in an album somewhere, let me know. Doing similar projects on my property, always good to get inspiration

          • Zink@programming.dev
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            5 days ago

            I will do that! It might be a while, who knows.

            Do you have anything specific you have started, or have started eyeing up?

            • WizardofFrobozz@lemmy.ca
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              5 days ago

              Previous owner just laid down hundreds of square meters of weed barrier fabric and then dumped gravel on it. We’re currently trying to re-shape the situation into a US southwestern-style dry garden.

              Specifically, I’m in the middle of moving a good deal of the existing gravel, removing the turf grass, and replacing it with a free-draining landscape built around gravel mulch and natural stone. Planting areas are shaped to create an open, desert-inspired feel, with plants grouped in drifts and clusters rather than traditional flower beds. Gonna focus on species that can handle cold winters, hot summers, drought, and wind while still capturing the character of those landscapes.

              Rather than recreating Arizona, adapting the look of the American Southwest to the Canadian prairie climate and growing conditions. Small palette of hardy plants like yuccas, prickly pears, ornamental grasses, sages, blanket flowers, and coneflowers.

              Goal is an open, sculptural, low-maintenance landscape inspired by northern New Mexico- adapted to the Canadian Prairies. Fire pit and seating area in the middle, so far, so good.

    • Lovable Sidekick@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      It’s amazing what you can DIY if you’re willing to put in the time and muscle! Oasis made me think of my wife’s cousin’'s backyard outside of Sacramento. He put in a few small shade trees, lots of overhead trellises with vines and stuff on them, and burbling water channels here and there. On hot summer days I swear it’s 10 degrees cooler back there.

      • Zink@programming.dev
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        5 days ago

        Yeah!

        I have lamented in comments before that it seems like society treats technology and “success” as things that mean you don’t have to put in any effort to do things or learn things.

        Admittedly, I’m an engineer and enjoy learning about the world and creating things starting with the basic building blocks, so I probably enjoy the learning and doing more than most. But I also recognize how engaging with the world around us is good for us, and my experiences keep reinforcing that.

  • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zip
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    7 days ago

    But, to be fair, there is a difference between strength you get in the gym and practical strength. Its a lot of factors and i dont wanna write an essay but it is (kind of) true.

    • da_cow (she/her)@feddit.org
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      6 days ago

      For anyone curious: the difference is, that farmers got more endurance with their strength (they can do physical labour all day long), while the typical gymbro can lift heavier weights, but not all day long

    • Deme@sopuli.xyz
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      7 days ago

      Repeating the last word of the top caption at the start of the bottom caption used to be a common ironic trope at least in certain circles, an attempt to make the meme shittier on purpose. An elegant literary device for a more civilized age…

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 @pawb.social
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    7 days ago

    I needed more physical fitness working at Tesla glueing cars together than I did on any of the farm jobs I’ve worked. But to be fair, the only farm work I haven’t done is harvesting things like strawberries and some other thing from a shrub (idk what it is), which are normally done by hand around here.

  • Lovable Sidekick@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Automated farm equipment is amazing now. Even small operators can use software that dispenses different amounts of water, nutrients, fertilizer or whatever on different parts of a field, based on a map deveoped from soil testing and last year’s yield - as measured by harvesters that weigh how much material gets harvested from every spot on the field. The operator’s main job is to be there in case something goes wrong.