Farmers will find no shortage of advice as they face a challenging crop year in 2022, but the best advice may well come from the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Niebuhr lived from 1892 to 1971. He was a professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City for more than 30 years and was a Reformed theologian, ethicist, and commentator. His Serenity Prayer was well known in his day and continues to be quoted 52 years after his death.

With all the challenges of today, from Vladimir Putin’s ruthless assault on Ukraine to inflation to sky-high gasoline costs and to personal worries that never make the news, a prayer seeking serenity is so profoundly needed. For farmers who are worrying about glyphosate shortages, labor challenges, and astronomical fuel and fertilizer costs, a call for serenity will be needed just as much as glyphosate is needed to control weeds and nitrogen is needed to boost yields.

Farmers know about precision agriculture; they know it is all the more needed in 2022 which is expected to be the toughest crop year most farmers have ever faced. What is needed more is “serenity agriculture” or the ability to know what you can actually do to  successfully produce a crop when you don’t determine commodity prices or input costs or control the weather. 

Farmers know about dealing with adversity. They handle challenges better than most; they will be up to the task again this year. One of the truths of life is that we are designed to be problem solvers. Farmers are better at problem solving than anybody; it’s  in their  DNA.

In the end, the greatest gift would be a repeat of 2021 where many farmers saw one of their best crop years ever with mostly cooperative weather and generally bountiful yields. Another good crop is needed this year to pencil out input costs. But if the good crop doesn’t come, farmers will keep on keeping on by practicing “serenity agriculture.” It’s in their DNA.