Last night, I was quite surprised to see a few ads that hit a subject near and dear to my heart…agriculture.

Monsanto had a great ad giving accolades to farming, but the one that is being buzzed about all around the world is the “So God Made a Farmer” ad by Ram. It wasn’t a “new” idea. The Paul Harvey piece was done in 1978 at an FFA convention. So why the big deal?

Well, it seems that everyone is wanting to read something into it. Either the piece is brilliant, or it’s a rip-off from days gone by. The ad is either an amazing ode to farming, or it’s chauvinistic and racist. The ad is a great tribute to one of our most important industries, or it’s a detriment to modern farming.

So which is it? How about none of the above.

Let me explain it this way:

For supper tonight, I made barbecue chicken wings, fried potatoes and green beans. I knew I had to make it nutritional for all, but flexible for everyone’s taste. I gave Scooter his plate first. Big Bro was ticked because he thought Scooter was served more food. EJ showed up and was mad because he insisted that he had ate those potatoes before, and didn’t like them. George couldn’t have the chicken, but complained about the green beans because I gave him more than the others. Boss Man came into the house, late for supper, but wasn’t going to eat anyway.

Everyone at the table saw the meal a different way. And me? Well, I was just grateful that I could provide my family a meal.

These boys hardly agree on anything, let alone supper!

This Super Bowl commercial is the same. It’s simply a few minutes that has managed to open some ears and pique some interest in what we do every day. It has little to do with an accurate portrayal of agriculture, nothing to do with Paul Harvey’s political views and won’t solve the world’s problems. But it has everything to do with providing an opportunity – and we better take advantage of it.

And now you know…the rest of the story.