Celebrating agriculture: ACA encourages individuals to celebrate National Agriculture Week
The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) commences March 17-23 as National Agriculture Week, acknowledging the agricultural industry and the role it plays in stabilizing the U.S. economy. The council also announced March 19 will be National Ag Day with the theme of “Agriculture: Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.”
National Agriculture Week commends the ag industry as a whole for being a source of abundant food, fiber and renewable products and celebrates efforts made by those involved in providing the U.S. with the necessities most take for granted.
“American farms remind us of the beauty and generosity of our nation. They feed the country and the world, and with each new planting season, they embody the most American of things – possibilities,” states the U.S. Census Bureau.
“On National Ag Day, we celebrate all of the farmers, farmworkers, ranchers, fishers, foresters and other agricultural workers who do so much to make our nation strong, fuel our economy and steward our lands,” the bureau continues.
This year, ACA will host a multitude of free events on March 19 including a Virtual Ag Day featuring Ag Day Chair and Ag Public Relations Manager Jenni Badding.
The activities continue in Washington, D.C., featuring U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. Closing out the day will be Ag Day on the Hill, featuring several Congressional speakers.
Prior to Ag Day, the 2024 Ag and Food Policy Summit, hosted by Agri-Pulse will also take place in Washington, D.C. on March 18 and can be streamed virtually.
“Revitalizing Rural Revenues” is this year’s theme, and the summit will explore a wide variety of options from local food systems to biomanufacturing, environmental markets and the potential to increase overseas demand.
Wrapping up the 2024 summit will be a panel of policy analysts who will explore some of the outside influences impacting the future of food and agriculture’s ability to stay economically sustainable.
Confirmed speakers for the summit include Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), National Potato Council Chief Executive Officer Kam Quarles and U.S. Meat Export Federation Chief Executive Officer Dan Hallstrom.
History of National Ag Day
The primary focus of ACA is to conduct the National Ag Day program which occurs every year in March and was celebrated for the first time in 1979.
Since 1973, the ACA has put efforts into creating awareness about the role of agriculture in modern society and is committed to teaching others about food and fiber production, as well as how agriculture provides safe, abundant and useful products.
Another important thing agriculture provides is employment opportunities, and ACA promotes career opportunities in the agriculture industry.
2024 National Ag Day marks the 51st year of the nationwide effort to share real stories of American agriculture and remind citizens agriculture affects everyone.
ACA invites students to interact virtually with legislators and agency representatives, delivering the Ag Day message. A core leadership team of college students will participate in the Washington, D.C. events, along with representatives of national farm and commodity organizations and representatives of the food, fuel and fiber communities.
According to an ACA press release, ACA President Jenny Pickett states, “Students are interested in advocating on behalf of agriculture and their future roles in the industry. Their participation in National Ag Day activities provides a glimpse of the future of agriculture.”
“It’s exciting to learn from students what they think agriculture will be like in the years ahead and how their involvement will shape the industry and America as a whole,” she continues.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service reports roughly 10 percent of all U.S. employment and on-farm jobs represented about 2.6 million jobs or a little over one percent of U.S. employment. Additionally, agriculture- and food-related jobs totaled more than 19 million.
“More and more students and individuals are finding careers in agriculture. The industry needs scientists, biologists, food safety technicians, livestock nutrition specialists, arborists and conservationists – one doesn’t have to be a farmer or have a direct on-farm job to be involved in the agriculture industry,” Pickett says.
Celebrate agriculture by thanking all of the individuals who work hard to feed the world, look after crops and livestock and contribute to agricultural production.
Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
