Now that I'm older, I actually like the title. I am a dirt farmer in the truest sense. If every farmer would stop and think for a moment, that is truly what we all are. The soil is the key to every farm. From the small grain farmer to the beef farmer, the vegetable farmer to the hog farmer, and every farmer in between, we all rely heavily on the soil. Without it farming dies.
Soil is not inert matter. Healthy farms have vibrant life living underneath those rows of tall green crops and lush pastures. Millions and even billions of organisms live there feeding each other and off of each other. Minerals are being used and replenished through the cycle of life and death. There is nothing lifeless about it.