It’s Valentines Day and with that comes, ‘OMG, I have the best significant other ever! I just love him/her sooo much!’ and all the mushy stuff. Or, ‘OMG, this is the worst holiday ever! I hate it sooo much!’and all that bitter stuff. Regardless, it’s Valentines Day and whether you like it or not there is no escaping the copious amounts of hearts, flowers, chocolate, cards and everything else associated with this so-called holiday.

I will admit, I have not always been the biggest fan of Valentines Day, but then I realized that without farmers, this day would be non-existent. Then, my farmer showed up at my door with a giant, and I mean GIANT, teddy bear.

I couldn’t help but feel a little bit like Taylor Swift…

And then the light bulb came on: this bear was most likely made out of cotton, which then got me thinking what other items are teddy bears made out of? So I did some research and found that, besides cotton, bears can be stuffed with:

• Wool. Because wool is natural, soft, durable and elastic it tends to stay fluffy after it has been compressed with use.

• Kapok. Kapok comes from the silk cotton tree, Ceiba pentandra. It has a silky feel and is normally used in mattresses, pillows and upholstery.

• Bamboo. Bamboo fiber is biodegradable, anti-bacterial and is very soft. It can be pure or mixed with polyester stuffing.

•Corn. Corn stuffing is a fairly new material as fibers are derived from corn starch sugars. It is lightweight, hypoallergenic and washable making it very eco-friendly.

Needless to say, there are a lot more farmers involved in making Valentines Day a success than I had originally thought. If you’re not a fan of Valentines Day, I hope that you have a new found appreciation for all the behind-the-scenes work a farmer does. When I view the holiday from that angle, it becomes much more bearable. Whether you love it or not, don’t forget to thank a farmer for all their hard work, especially if you received a giant teddy bear

Until next time, happy trails!

P.S. If you want to view the top five areas a farmer is directly involved in on this day of love, click here.