This Umair article is a little off the wall. These days, farmers usually specialize in one kind of crop. A wheat farmer in Nebraska cannot grow his own oranges or lettuce. A vegetable farmer in Texas would not put his fields to wheat to make his own bread. A Montana rancher might eat his own T-bone steaks, his families would get their potatoes from a grocery store.

The time when family farms did have their own gardens, milk cows, and chickens is two generations ago. Even then, they were still dependent on the grocery stores. Self-sufficiency in food is a bit of a myth.

And today’s farmers are wealthy enough to drive to the city to get their groceries. They had a choice: support the local store with slightly higher prices or go to the city for cheaper prices and better selection. We know what their choice was.

Umair, don’t fall for the poor, poor farmer myth. I come from a farming community. The teenage farm kids drive better cars than what this wage earners can afford.