My name is Jay Moore and I’m a third generation farmer and rancher – but initially not by choice. Like many young adults who grow up in rural America, I desperately wanted “off the farm” to explore the big cities and take in all they had to offer.
My parents always hoped I would receive a college education and fortunate for them (and me), it came in the way of an athletic scholarship which also provided my ticket to the big outside world.
With college degree in hand, I worked my way up the various corporate ladders for the next 15 years, finally settling in the big corner office as the VP of Operations for one of the largest clinical laboratory conglomerates in North America.
We lived in the obligatory McMansion in the classic 90210 wannabe suburban neighborhood. We drove nice cars and I learned to play golf badly. We also schmoozed with the plastic people at school functions; as expected of a successful upper crust suburban family.
Then one morning while I was idling in the car waiting to drop our young son off at the $2,200 a month private charter school, I had that epiphany moment. “What the hell am I doing? This isn’t what I want for my family. What a bunch of phonies…. and I’m one of them!” And as if on cue, the song “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads comes on the radio. That was all I needed.
With my dad then in his seventies and in failing health, I quit my job, sold the McMansion, and we moved back to the family farm. We’ve yet to regret the decision, but it did present its own set of problems.
One thing I learned in the big business world was diversification. Small town living, farming and ranching is very rewarding spiritually, but not so much financially – at least not consistently.
You’re always at the mercy of the weather, commodity prices, fuel costs, etc. And if you live in town your often relying on the one primary local employer – worrying if they’re going to be in business next month or even next week. In Small Town USA and on the farm, it’s common to feel like there is very little within your control
This is why I started this blog. Small towns are dying across the country. The rural lifestyle is witheringly away like so many dried up crops. There is no reason people in rural areas can’t make a decent living and enjoy the benefits of small town life.
My goal is to help people in small towns, including farmers and ranchers, who make up the fabric of Rural America, to empower themselves. To preserve rural America and the small town lifestyle without settling for the typical minimum wage job at the feed lot or the local Mom and Pop small business.
If you’re a city dweller or urbanite wanting to achieve your dream of escaping the suburban “shades of beige” sameness and urban rat race, I can help you too. Believe me; I know what you’re feeling. I’ve been there, done that.
