Every once in a while an article will pop up about why farm kids are so healthy. Usually these articles have fancy words and lots of statistics. I sometimes am left wondering if they really know what they are talking about. It is really simple why farm kids are healthy. Drum roll…….. THEY GET DIRTY! They get really dirty. I mean dirty. Their hands get dirty. Their clothes get dirty. Their faces are dirty. They get dirty. Really dirty. End of study.
Lets take a closer look how farm kids exactly get dirty. Farm kids are exposed to lots of different germs and bugs that urban kids are not exposed to. So this might gross you out but this is how it works. Everett and Vivian pet the cows, touch silage, pet our dogs Eva or Bosco (who have walked through cow pop sometime through out the day) At some point in time Vivian will pick her nose. Everett will wipe his face with the back of a shirt sleeve or eat their snacks without washing their hands. Gasp! (I heard you gasp.) Farm kids are exposed to cows sneezing, pooping and doing other cows things which are not very “germ free”. Farm kids have baby calves lick them. Farm kids come into the house after playing outside and need to take their clothes off pretty much at the door or at a designated “farm” area in the house. Why you ask, because their clothes have cow poop on them. Farm kids breathe in dust from hay, dust from dirt roads and dandruff from animals. Everett will pick up a wrench in the barn to “fix” something which has grease, oil, or poop on it. Farm kids hands play in dirt, catch frogs, worms and snake. Farm kids catch insects. Farm kids nurse birds with broken wings back to health. All of these things contribute to one healthy farm kid.
There’s the study. Plan, simple and understandable. Now if I can just figure out a way to receive a university grant for my study.
Raising a Farmer 
Great Job Brenda. Love your posts. Happy New Year.
Thank you Dan! Happy New Year to you too!