23 Intriguing Farm & Farmer Facts Everyone Should Know

In 1983, a 61-year-old potato farmer named Cliff Young won the inaugural Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon, a distance of 875 kilometers (544 mi), almost two days faster than the previous record for any run between Sydney and Melbourne. He ran at a slow, loping pace, and trailed the pack by a large margin at the end of the first day. While the other competitors stopped to sleep for 6 hours however, Young kept running. He ran continuously for five days, taking the lead during the first night, and eventually winning by ten hours.

A Chinese farmer named Wang Enlin studied law for 16 years to defeat a corporation dumping hazardous chemical waste near his land.

In 1910, 10,000 Iowan farmers built 380 miles of road (River-to-River Road) (entire width of the state) in one hour on a Saturday morning.

Italian farmer Riccardo Bertani who is one of the most proficient polyglot ever left the studies after elementary school and taught himself more than 100 languages.

In the '80s, a Welsh farmer grew so fed up with RAF flying so low over his house that he painted "Piss Off Biggles" in giant letters on the roof of his barn. This prompted the RAF to use the barn as a navigational landmark although flying higher to respect his wishes.

Farmers in Kenya are using elephants' natural fears of bees and building "beehive fences" that keep wild elephants from trampling the crops. It keeps the farms safe and prevents farmers from having to kill elephants to defend their livelihood.

A farmer sued the US government in 1946 after military planes flew too low over his farm, startling and causing his chickens to kill themselves by flying into the walls. He claimed the government should compensate him because he owned the air above his farm.

In 2004, farmers in India used Pepsi and Coca Cola instead of pesticides because they were cheaper and got the job done just as well.

An Australian farmer named Prince Leonard of Hutt protested government-imposed wheat quotas by ceding from Australia and creating his own country. The country, the Principality of Hutt River still exists and he is the king.

A Chinese farmer named Gao XianZhang developed a way to make pears grow in the shape of little baby Buddhas by using plastic molds.