Happy National Ag Day-Thank you Farmers and Ranchers for all that you do

Another year has passed and it is time to once again recognize our farmers and ranchers for all of the hard work and effort that they put into making sure that we have a wide selection of foods to choose from when we’re sitting at a table and wondering what’s for dinner.  So, first and foremost, let me just say thank you to those of you who are reading this and are directly responsible for making sure that we are all getting fed.

In case you were not already aware, this week is Ag Week and specifically, March 19 is Ag Day.  Ag Week and Ag Day are dates specifically set aside to recognize our dwindling agricultural population for all that they do for the rest of the world.  We all like to eat and have clothes to wear and these tasks just would not be possible were it not for their efforts.  Personally, I think there should more than a week set aside to recognize these hard-working individuals but most of them probably wouldn’t care to be recognized at all because that is just the kind of humble, hard-working people that they are.
 

The problem with humble, hard-working people is that they just go about their jobs tending to their work and for the most part, let the problems of the rest of the world fall off of their backs while they are out trying to make a living.  While this practice was fine before the age of 24/7 news media and attention paid to anyone who is willing to speak up about anything (factual or not), that just is not the case in our society today.  Unfortunately, if you just go about your work and choose not to get involved in the back and forth debates about your craft, you are seen as having something to hide or someone who simply does not care.

So someone must speak up for our hard-working, humble folks and I guess that is the reason that the national Ag Day and Ag Week were created, so that hopefully factual information about how our food is produced and the people who produce it can be proclaimed.  So I want to take this opportunity to do my part and hopefully try and dispel some myths about our current  agricultural production practices.

Probably the most mis-leading “facts” that are constantly being thrown around about agriculture production in the United States is that it is not a system built on sustainability.  Opponents of the way we grow our food and textiles would tell you that we use way too many natural resources, we are not good stewards of the land, and that we’re not “green” enough.  To those people, I would offer these facts.

1.       If our farmers were using the same production practices to produce corn in 2008 as they used in 1931, we would need an additional 490 million more acres to produce the same amount.  That is 120 million MORE acres than what is included in our largest state, Alaska.
 

2.       In 1997, it took a beef animal 606 days to grow from birth to slaughter and in 2007 that number was down to 482 days, a savings of 124 days per animal.  This means that each animal is eating 124 days less of feedstuffs, drinking 124 days less water, and taking 124 less days of waste off of the poop pile.

3.       In 1960, one farmer fed about 26 people.  Today, that same farmer will feed 155.

And these are just a few of the more interesting tidbits that I could find. 
So be sure that you say thank you to your local, humble, hard-working, sustainable food producer today.  And really, you don’t have to wait until Ag Day or Ag Week to do so, I’m sure he or she would appreciate the recognition any day or week of the year.