Living on a farm is the dream of many people, a way to get back in touch with nature and the slower pace of rural life. While a lot of what is said about the farming lifestyle is romanticised fiction there are many tangible benefits, not all of which are readily apparent from images on TV or from day trips to petting zoos and tourist traps.

Fresh air

The environmental benefits of life on the farm are probably the most common, and while pollution, smog and climate change are global problems that we must all address together rural people don’t generally breath in a lot of gas fumes every day, and there’s usually at least a little bit of a breeze blowing to keep the air moving. If you have allergies, can’t stand the occasional smell of manure or aren’t willing to venture outdoors 365 days a year then you might not enjoy life on the farm, though somehow regular exposure to fresh country air seems to rub off on even the most hardened city slicker after a little while.

You grow your own food

Farmers go the grocery store like everyone else, and even the most comprehensive farming operation can’t meet all of your family’s dietary needs (you can’t raise waterfowl in the Sahara or grow banana trees in Canada). But if you live on a farm you have an excellent opportunity to grow at least some of your own food, by planting a vegetable garden, starting an orchard, or raising livestock. In most cases just growing enough for yourself is impractical – you use what you need and sell the rest, be it farm fresh eggs, strawberries or prime cuts of beef.

You have to do chores

If you raise animals of any sort they need to be attended to at least once a day (often twice or more, depending on what animal it is and the time of year). Every day, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and your mother-in-law’s birthday you’ll have to do the chores. But feeding, watering and bedding your animals can be very rewarding, and can be a great daily respite from the rest of your life. If you have young children they can help, and as they get older can take on more and more tasks, providing them with an excellent education in handling responsibilities.

The pace of rural life

One of the best parts about the farming lifestyle is that it forces you to slow down. Animals can’t be rushed, tractors don’t go very fast and it takes a fairly long time for things to grow. On the farm you become much more in tune with the weather, the seasons and the world around you. You can be baling hay and notice a coyote come out of the bush and follow you down the field in search of mice, or see a family of raccoons scurrying out of the barn at dusk. On the farm you truly understand that you are a part of nature, and a very small part of nature at that.