Debunking Common Farm Myths: 4 of our most commonly heard farming misconceptions, debunked!

farm myths

Agriculture is all around us. It provides us with the food we eat every day, and if you live in Lancaster County, you will likely drive past a farm at least once a week. Despite the amount of agriculture in Lancaster, we often encounter misconceptions about farming. So today, we’re debunking a few of these farming myths!

1. Most farms are corporately owned.

In recent years, we’ve seen a rise in large corporate-owned farms in the U.S., so much so that you might think corporations run most farms. However, 97 percent of America’s farms are still family-owned, and 90 percent of all farm production by value is attributed to family farms. Here in Lancaster County, 99 percent of all farms are family-owned operations.

2. Brown eggs are more nutritious than white eggs.

If you drive through Lancaster’s countryside, you’ll likely see signs advertising brown eggs for sale. Because of this, some believe that brown eggs are more nutrient-dense than white eggs. However, shell color alone does not affect the nutritional value of an egg! However, a chicken’s environment and diet do affect the egg’s nutritional value. Chickens with a balanced diet in low-stress environments tend to produce eggs higher in certain vitamins. For example, chickens with free exposure to sunshine, like free-roam chickens, produce eggs that are three times higher in vitamin D than chickens raised in barns.

3. Farming only produces food.

As many know, without farms, we’d have no food. However, we’d lose much more than food without farmland. Farms don’t only produce food products; they also produce cotton for clothes, non-food crops for products such as paint, corn for toothpaste, and so much more. Plus, without farms, we wouldn’t have beautiful flowers or adorable succulents to decorate our homes!

4. Farming is just like a regular job.

The agricultural industry is unique in many ways that we often don’t consider. First, a farmer’s job relies largely on the weather. Their to-do lists change frequently and at a moment’s notice, meaning farmers must be more prepared and flexible than employees in other industries. Farms don’t have closing times, and farmers work long hours. Depending on the season, many start the day early and work until dark. A farm requires much attention and dedication, and farmers live at their “place of business.” No matter the hour, if something goes wrong, a farmer is there to fix it!

We are very grateful for our local farmers. Their hard work and dedication to agriculture feed our community and keep Lancaster beautiful. We want to help our community better understand Lancaster County agriculture so we can better appreciate our agricultural landscape. If you’d like to learn more about our farmland, check out other LFT resources: View our YouTube channel to meet some of our farmers, learn about our work, and check out our publications to dive even deeper!

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