Posted on 02/09/2006 7:29:40 PM PST by SJackson
The farmer in the dell takes a wife, but the cheese stands alone.
Some rural folks identify more with the cheese than the farmer. For those people, Jerry Miller has an answer: FarmersOnly.com, a dating Web site meant specifically for “sincere, down-to-earth people who respect and cherish the rural lifestyle.”
The Beachwood, Ohio, man runs an advertising agency that works for agribusinesses.
A divorced female farmer sparked his idea for FarmersOnly.com.
A stab at online dating frustrated the farmer because she met urbanites who couldn’t relate to her long hours and laborious work.
“She was afraid she was never going to meet anybody new,” said Mr. Miller, who’s been married for 28 years.
Mr. Miller said finding love is a serious problem for farmers and other rural folks, who often work dawn to dusk or longer and live in isolated areas where sweethearts paired up in high school. And there are fewer farmers than 20 years ago, said Harvey Eness, Wisconsin Singles in Agriculture president.
A 45-year-old from Troy, Mo., states in his FarmersOnly.com profile why it’s hard to find a partner.
“City girls like my profession but not my lifestyle,” he wrote.
The site, founded in May, exploded this winter after national and international media attention. It boasts 15,000 members, with 100 to 500 people joining every day, Mr. Miller said last week.
Daters creating a profile are asked what they raise or grow, though there are answer options for those who simply love a rural lifestyle.
A 43-year-old Illinois woman who goes by the online name quietcountrygirl suffers quietly through city life.
“I am a country girl who is currently in an office job, hating every minute of it!” she wrote.
Mr. Miller notes patterns in the types of people who use the site.
“It’s kind of a mix of just the rural people who can relate to farmers, people who used to be farmers, real farmers and just throw in a couple farmer-wannabes,” he said.
A 35-year-old from South Bend, Ind., who goes by the online name jdfrmr writes in his online profile that he has high hopes for the site.
“Read about this site in a magazine and figured I’d hit pay dirt, so here I am,” he wrote.
Mr. Miller’s creation may contribute to the decline of groups such as Singles in Agriculture.
“We’re losing ground. We attribute it to computers,” Mr. Eness said.
The Wisconsin chapter has about 30 members, most around 60 years old, he said.
“We’ve tried a lot of different ideas and haven’t gotten the magic bullet,” Mr. Eness said of attempts to boost membership.
Singles in Agriculture isn’t a dating service, Mr. Eness said, but some find love while making new friends. After dancing with a woman, Mr. Eness spent the afternoon telling her about the group. The pair later married.
FarmersOnly.com may be young, but Mr. Miller hears of some marriages between people who met through the site.
“When you find out that you made it to where two people who have been lonely for a long time are getting married … that’s unbelievable,” he said.
Members sent 200,000 messages through the site in the last couple of weeks, Mr. Miller said.
Members can hide their profile from public view if they’re settling into a relationship. About 900 people had hidden theirs last week, Mr. Miller said.
“There must be a lot of relationships going,” he said.
Some farmers also seek a partner in the barn.
“One profile looked more like a job interview,” Mr. Miller said. “A lot of guys say, ‘You can’t be afraid to get your fingernails dirty.’”
Most farmers and rural folks detest dishonesty, Mr. Miller said.
“The No. 1 term used on the site is the word honesty,” he said.
Though Mr. Miller loves seeing his advertising work aid someone’s business, it doesn’t compare to pairing farmers.
“I love it. When I get e-mails from people saying they met somebody … that gives me more of a rush than anything I’ve ever done,” he said.
A little off topic.
I'm from an agricultural/rural area, and I've always been amazed at the number of straight, attractive, Christian, clean-living, hard-working, economically successful farmers who are single.
Would like to meet single woman, 35-50, non-smoker, must own tractor. Write me about your hopes and dreams. Send picture of tractor.
There was a time when I thought about going into ag, just because it's good clean-living work out in the fresh air.
Kind of sorry that I didn't now.
If'n I can't buy the cow, I jus' might sample some milk.
"[Dating service for farmers]"
What about his daughter?
You farmers must be gettin' mighty lonely! >8^)>~
People Husbandry!
Hey thanks for the info...I'm sure going to check this out as I could sure use a nice hard working lady who loves to drive tractors and work cattle....I hope shes an early riser as she will need to get my fish bait ready for me before the sun comes up and she has to go to work on the ranch....
I love this! Have several single male friends I'm going to link this to. It seriously is difficult for rural singles to find someone.
lolol
My dad wanted to farm. He was a school administrator. He bought 20 acres, planted it with navel oranges; bought another 20 and did the same again. He literally ran into the house after he "got home from work," threw on his khaki pants and work shirt, grabbed between 1 and 6 kids and a sandwich, jumped into the truck, and off we went.
We spent a number of Christmas Eves lighting smudge pots and yelling Merry Christmas at midnight...
SWM, 34, cattle farmer. ISO nice ewe, 3-4, for lovin...
You are so baaaaaad!
How do you tell the difference between Mick Jagger and a Scotsman?
Mick Jagger says "Hey, you, get off of my cloud!". A Scotsman says "Hey, McLeod, get off of my ewe!".
LMAO!
LOL. Thanks for the chuckle.
Wish this service had been around 30 years ago.
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