We all know that farming is dangerous. Those of us who are out there everyday on large equipment…working near to moving gears and belts. Driving down roads where our urban neighbors and us rural folks share the highway. We all know it’s dangerous, we all respect it as much as we can. We sit through hours of safety training every year, yet everyday a farmer is killed in this country.
So when I hear the tones for our fire department go off and it’s a tractor vs. motor vehicle accident. I feel that as farmers our respect for the danger of our jobs has hit full force into the world where our speeds don’t match up to everyone else out there. So I listened with my baby in my arms, knowing I couldn’t go. Knowing that just down the road someone’s life, many people’s lives were changing faster than they ever thought possible. The nightmare was hitting.
The farming industry in Oregon lost a great soul last night. He was a farmer, he was a dad, a husband, a volunteer, board member, and one of those people who you were always glad to see. There aren’t words for how much I want to tell his family about what a good man he was. Or how he always had a way of rallying the troops around what he cared about, around what he knew was important not just to all farmers but to all people. I know that when he spoke, people listened, because they trusted him and respected him. And we laughed with him…oh all the laughter! He was goofy, kind, and serious all mixed in a man who stood taller than most in stature, personality, and character.
Scott Miller, you will be missed by so many.
NuttyGrass 