Founded in 1973, National Ag Day will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year. The country will celebrate Ag Week March 17-23, with Ag Day being held March 19th.
There are many different groups throughout America that join together to recognize and celebrate agriculture and all that it provides. In honor of the 40th anniversary, they are taking a look at the past of agriculture with the theme “Generations Nourishing Generations.”
Ag Day encourages everyone to see the major role agriculture plays in maintaining a strong economy and providing safe, abundant and affordable products. If you think about the basics of what things are made of, it comes back to agriculture. Too many people don’t realize that agriculture provides almost everything they eat, use and wear in their daily lives, especially school aged children. Unlike in this area, many kids from around the country are not exposed to agriculture at all.
While promoting Ag Day, the Agriculture Council of America is “encouraging young people to consider career opportunities in agriculture.”
Most people, when they think of a career in Ag, picture working on a farm or ranch, but in reality only 10% of Americans are involved in farming. Unlike agriculture years ago, today there are more than 200 different related careers employing approximately 22 million people in the agricultural field.
According to agday.org, “Each American farmer feeds more than 144 people, a dramatic increase from 25 people in the 1960’s.” At that time, most Americans were involved in, or knew someone involved in agriculture. Today, however, that is not the case. As the population grows, the demand for food and fiber increases which makes agriculture more important than ever.
So on March 19th, let ag producers know you appreciate them. After all, they do supply you with the necessities, of life.
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