I feel like this comment speaks directly to a fundamental mis-calculation around farming. Certainly it’s an entrepreneurial endeavor, but it’s also a job. When we see Silicon Valley entrepreneurs scrape and scrap and work 90 hour weeks to connect with their customers, figure out the best supply chains, etc, they’re doing that 1) for the possibility of HUGE returns and 2) often with huge financial security and backing. When farmers, particularly young/beginning farmers, set out to build their businesses, they’re putting in the same amount of time/effort and usually a ton of personal capital, for little more than (at best, usually) a middling income, a ton of debt, and a ton of risk. I know young farmers who’ve been working 90 hour weeks for 10 years and have yet to take one single vacation, they’ve poured $100k in savings in and don’t own land. Does that seem like a reasonable price to pay so that you can have the freedom to “figure it out on your own?”

I wouldn’t begrudge a single young farmer the desire to get benefits and paid vacation. As a matter of fact, that seems like a *much* more sustainable model than what we have now. If they’re happy with the terms of the arrangement, then I don’t Know why anyone would ever begrudge another persons desire to have a work-life balance, no matter what their job is.