The United States Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, today (Tuesday, March 19) said America “celebrated” farmers and the agriculture sector “who feed the nation” on its National Agriculture Day.
Speaking at a special event in Washington D.C. Vilsack said that farmers and farm workers “don’t just feed us”.
“Their resilience, dedication, and hard work ensure we have a secure, reliable, and accessible food supply.
“They help keep businesses alive in small towns, provide school children with access to healthy food grown in their own communities, help protect our planet through conservation practices, and so much more,” he added.
The US Agriculture Secretary added that for, perhaps the first time, many Americans realised in a “tangible way how important agriculture is to our everyday lives”.
“Every person who wakes up in the morning and doesn’t have to grow or harvest their own food gets to do that thanks to the small percentage of our population who work the land day in and day out.
““From a pandemic to trade wars and global conflicts, the agricultural supply chain has faced many challenges in recent years,” he stated.
Vilsack said that his department was “proud to stand alongside U.S. agriculture in the spirit of this year’s National Agriculture Day theme: Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.
He also highlighted that many of the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) officials come from farming or farmworker backgrounds, “lending a personal perspective and drive to make our programs the best they can be for the people who need them”.
Vilsack added: “From helping new and beginning farmers stay in business, to making operations more resistant to unpredictable climate threats, to recruiting a diverse next generation of agriculture professionals, to creating a new model where farms of all sizes can thrive, USDA is laser-focused on creating opportunity for all who want to participate in agriculture, both now and well into the future.”