When Food brings Everyone to the Table

National Ag Day in the United States is a day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture. Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless others across America join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture. It falls on March 23 during the National Ag Week and is hosted by the Agriculture Council of America.

The National Ag Day program encourages every American to:

• Understand how food and fiber products are produced.

• Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.

• Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.

Today, each American farmer feeds more than 165 people and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, putting food on the table despite minimized income in most households has become crucial now more than ever. Quite simply, American agriculture is doing more – and doing it better. As the world population soars, there is an even greater demand for the food and fiber produced in the United States.

This year the theme is Food Brings Everyone to the Table and this year, the virtual US Ag Day celebration will bring everyone together to recognize the importance of American agriculture. The program will include both live and pre-recorded segments with remarks from government leaders on the agriculture industry’s economic growth opportunities and how the future will be shaped by lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. A representative from the collegiate Ag Day student program will share their experiences and participants will get to hear the winning Ag Day essay as well as view the winning Ag Day video essay. 2021’s Outstanding Young Farmers will also be recognized during the event. The program begins on March 23, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. CST. It is free and open to all participants and you can register to attend.

Food is indeed a great way to bring people from various backgrounds, cultures, and philosophies in a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere to discuss key issues. However, sometimes the very issue that needs discussion is food itself. As Emerging Ag consistently brings everyone to the table to discuss issues related to food systems, food security, and agriculture, we could not agree more with the theme. So, we raise our glasses of milk to say cheers to US agriculture and we encourage everyone to not only talk over food but talk about food as well.