Agriculture

We celebrate National Ag Day to raise awareness of the role that agriculture plays in our lives and how essential it is to our economy and national security.

As Secretary of Agriculture, I am thrilled to have a whole week to celebrate the bounty of the American harvest.

It was another year in the red for American farmers and ranchers. With a 52-percent drop in net farm income over the past five years, producers’ backs are against the wall. But we can do something to help them.

“Feeding a troubled and hungry world … ” It is a phrase I have said often over the years.

There’s more to agriculture than the food we eat. The resiliency and innovation of America’s farmers and ranchers is unmatched. They’re the backbone of our economy and key to sustained economic strength.

For generations, American farmers, ranchers, producers, processors and retailers have comprised our country’s food safety net. As a result of their efforts, we enjoy the highest quality, safest and most abundant food and fiber supply in the history of the world.

One of America’s greatest assets is the farm families that feed and clothe us.

American agriculture means generations of families growing food and fiber, powering the economies of communities across this nation.

While most Americans view infrastructure as roads and bridges, schools and broadband, there is a deeper and more basic infrastructure on which we all depend: The farmland that literally sustains us.

We are blessed in this country to have hard-working farm families that care for our land. They produce bounty of crops that are the envy of the world.

Over the last few decades, amazing innovations have advanced the food and agriculture industry at a breathtaking pace.

Did you know that the U.S. Congress’ farm bill is the single largest source of private land conservation funding in the entire federal budget?

I appreciate National Ag Day and National Ag Week because it gives us pause to celebrate our farmers and ranchers and to think about the work involved in raising crops and livestock.

Every morning, America’s farmers and ranchers wake up before sunrise to take care of their cattle. Generations have carried on this rich tradition, raising high-quality beef to feed their families and the world.

A former agriculture secretary once said, “Everyone of us who is not a farmer is not a farmer because we have farmers. We delegate the responsibility of feeding our families to a relatively small percentage of this country.”