Make Every Day Ag Day

Rosemary Gordon

Rosemary Gordon

Another National Ag Day came and went on March 18. Did you do anything to promote it this year? Even if you didn’t, the good news is every day can be Ag Day. Organized by the Agriculture Council of America, National Ag Day was started more than four decades ago to do what many of you have been talking about for years: educate the public on where food comes from and have consumers appreciate the role ag plays in our society.

We need to get the word out about the significance of ag because in about 35 years more than 9 billion people are expected to grace the planet. Producing nutritious food for that many people is quite an undertaking, especially today when the average age of the American farmer is about 58, and approximately 2% of the U.S. population is involved in agriculture.

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Just how can that be done? For starters let’s help those producing nutritious vegetables continue to be successful. American Vegetable Grower and sister publications American Fruit Grower and Florida Grower started the GenNext Growers Initiative (GenNextGrowers.com) about two years ago to provide young producers and those aspiring to take leadership roles on the farm with the information they need to get the job done and propel the industry forward.

By covering topics such as business planning, human resources, and public speaking skills — among many other topics — in our magazines, on our website, GrowingProduce.com, and through webinars, we have and will continue to provide pertinent information for future industry leaders.

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Those who formulated the Challenge 2050 Project at the University of Florida also want to promote future leaders. According to the project’s website (Challenge2050.ifas.ufl.edu), the charge of the program is to “develop human capacity to meet the needs associated with a population projected to exceed 9.6 billion by the year 2050.”

Last month, I visited the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) in Gainesville where I also learned about Challenge 2050. During the visit I heard from some of the students as well as the collaborators involved in the project, vegetable seed company HM.CLAUSE, and its parent company, Limagrain, an international company specializing in field and vegetable seeds and cereal. I also spoke with the CEO of HM.CLAUSE and the company clearly understands the global nature of the many issues surrounding a growing population.

For you, however, it’s not about the world, at least right now. For you, it is about communicating with your customers, employees, and others about the critical need for agriculture, not only for them but for the next generation and beyond.
Let’s begin preparations for Ag Day 2016. Scrap that. Let’s make every day Ag Day.

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