Childcare and the Daily Grind of Farming
posted on
July 19, 2026
I write this on a slow Sunday morning while our three-month-old, Asa, sleeps on my chest. We hope the day is unhurried and that we can do the bare minimum chores at our leisure — checking on the pigs, rotating the small group of cows here at the Athens farm, and heading up to move the big cattle herd at the Shew farm in Morgan County.
CJ has been going hard the last few months keeping the farm running while I took the lead on childcare as a breastfeeding mom who can’t be far from the little one for more than a couple hours. Last week I was back to work part-time at Rural Action, so we sorted out a new childcare arrangement for my Mom and CJ to split days watching the baby.
I can’t help but tie our experiences to the larger trends in our food system. Childcare is a common barrier to farm business growth. Nationally, three-quarters (77%) of farm families with children under 18 report difficulties securing child care because of lack of affordability, availability or quality. Almost half (48%) report that having access to affordable child care is important for maintaining and growing their farm business. We are lucky to have researchers like Shoshanah Inwood at OSU looking into this and other sociological challenges facing farmers.
My relationship to farming has certainly shifted this year during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. How do you pick up meat from the butcher without being allowed to lift heavy things? How do you clean out a dirty pig waterer while wearing a baby? While I’ve been able to sort cattle with Asa strapped in the carrier or send invoices while he naps, the daily grind of farming has been carried out by CJ. He’s been running things like a champ, picking up 58 piglets from a farm in WV and setting them up on pasture, driving to the Shew farm every day to move the herd, tagging and castrating calves, mowing pastures, fixing fence, and most recently, caring for a cow who had calving paralysis after birthing an unusually large calf. Much of this has been in the middle of a heatwave that has heat index temperatures above 100 degrees. And on top of that, poor air quality from the Canadian wildfires.
Family is a big help. Both of our parents and siblings show up on the regular to help care for Asa, mow pastures, set up at market, or share a meal. I don’t know how farming parents do it without this kind of extended family support.
Anyway, I wasn’t sure what I was going to write when I sat down to my computer — and then got interrupted by the baby five times! I suppose the thesis is this: 1) I am grateful for the circles of care who support us and help to make this farming endeavor possible. 2) Our country needs to do better by farmers. 3) Thank you for believing in the importance of small farms by eating our food and rooting for us.
