March 21 marks National Ag Day

Mar 21, 2017

Agriculture’s contributions take center stage

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Agriculture’s contributions to everyday life are being celebrated as part of National Ag Day.

For the past 44 years, every March 21, farmers are thanked for their efforts to provide food for the rest of the population.

The theme for 2017’s edition of National Ag Day is “Agriculture: Food For Life.”

National Ag Day is organized by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA). The organization says the day encourages Americans to understand how their food is produced, and to appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe products, as well as its contributions to a strong economy. The organization also uses the day to promote consideration of an ag career.

According to the ACA, each farmer is responsible for feeding more than 144 people.

“To those who work in acres, not hours. We salute you,” Julie Tomascik, a member of the Texas Farm Bureau, said on Twitter.

“I cannot express how thankful I am for farmers,” Anne Elizabeth said on Twitter.

In Washington, the National Press Club hosted an Ag Day panel discussion focusing on how farmers and ranchers use the latest technologies and methodologies to produce more food in a sustainable manner.

Elsewhere, Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), was named a founding luminary of the 4-H Luminaries – an exclusive group of accomplished and influential 4-H alumni.

“Duvall has been a life-long supporter of investing in young people with demonstrated interest in not only farming and ranching but also agribusiness…,” Julie Anna Potts, AFBF executive vice president, said in a release.

National Ag Day falls within National Ag Week, a weeklong observance of the importance of agriculture. National Ag Week continues until March 25.

And members of the farming community are doing their part to showcase American agriculture.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey visited a meat market in Pella on Monday.

Ulrich Meat Market reopened in November 2015 after closing in December 2014.

Northey told KNIA/KRLS News it was “great to be able to hear some of that story.”

In an interview with South Dakota Public Broadcasting, state Secretary of Agriculture Mike Jaspers said agriculture impacts everything from food, to clothing, to medical vaccines.

David Daniels, Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, visited D&D Ingredients, which provides vitamin premixes used in animal feeds.

Daniels said visiting the facility serves as a reminder of how sophisticated agriculture is.

“Agriculture is still a huge business in this country and it touched everyone’s lives in ways they haven’t even thought of…” he told the Delphos Herald.

Follow National Ag Day and National Ag Week on social media using the hashtags #NationalAgDay and #NationalAgWeek.

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