This essay was written by the son of a family friend. It is entirely his work. I take no credit for it.

The single most important agricultural issue in today's economy is consumer awareness. The fact is that a good percentage of the U.S. population does not know that milk comes from cows and corn comes from a field, not the local supermarket. It is vital to our agricultural industry to educate American Youth if agriculture is to survive.

The education we provide will not only make consumers more aware of what they eat, but ensure agricultural sustainability. In 1970, 70-80 percent of the U.S. population was employed in agriculture. In 2008, 2-3 percent was employed directly in agriculture. The United States of America has an area of approximately 2.3 billion acres. Agriculture currently accounts for 922 million- in the care of 2.2 million farmers. This averages at about 418 acres per farmer. In contrast, in 1997, 960 million acres was being farmed at an average farm size of 431 acres. Simply stated, within ten years, America has lost 40 million acres of farm land. As Americans become less aware of how important the industry is that feeds them, the under-educated begin to make laws and restrictions to make it harder to apply pesticides and herbicides to ensure a healthy crop. Farmers, who now have less to plant, must raise yields in their fields in order to break even.

When the public doesn't know where their milk, bread and eggs come from, they don't know how to vote for the Ag community. In a new guidance form from the FDA, farmers who raise food producing animals are being pushed to eliminate antimicrobial drugs. The FDA alleges the promotion of these products can affect the meat and the consumer eating the product. If a junior showman is unable to treat his market hog's scrapes and cuts with neosporin (a benign topical antibiotic), he runs the risk of infection and ruining the meat through bacteria or worse yet bacterial infection and death. In that one decision a 12 year old 4-h'er loses not only the hog but all the time and devotion to the animal. These "guidelines" could soon turn to legislation. If the regulations on food producing livestock operations get any worse than they are, prices in the consumer market will sky rocket. High production costs force higher retail costs. The outlaw of horse slaughter in the U.S. came with catastrophic effects. People have no affordable way to be rid of a useless equine, and many are being dropped off or abandoned on public property. The average cost to euthanize a horse is around 300 dollars. Many of the general horse community do not have 300 dollars to be rid of their old horse. So a horse that could be used to feed America or its pets is now being abandoned for tax payers to pay to take care of. The congressmen who were advised to vote on the outlawing of horse slaughter are just as uneducated as the public and humane society representatives that forced it on Capitol Hill.

The collective result is that the general public does not have enough knowledge to vote in favor of the industry that feeds them. Without the immediate connection of gallon of milk = farm, loaf of bread = farm, farms are forgotten. Without aggressive education, agricultural land will continue to diminish, yields will suffer, and programs like 4-H will cease. In order to save our industry in these times of economic hardship, we must educate our youth. After all, the future of Agriculture is in their hands.

By Justin Sauers

Judge Stands Firm

An Idaho judge recently helped block another push to get sage grouse listed as endangered. Go to the link here and read the full story. Don't hesitate to revisit aginfo,net. It is one of my primary information sources.

http://www.aginfo.net/index.cfm/event/report/id/Open-Range-21306

What is Your Vision of the Future of Agriculture?

The results are in from the latest poll and it looks like most people are optimistic but we have a few doom-and-gloomers. I believe the Agriculture's future is very bright. It has to be or we as a race will cease to exist. Agriculture today, especially American Agriculture, produces more food from less ground than ever before. Equipment advances allow farmers to spend less time plowing and more time budgeting, marketing, planning improving than at any other time in history.On top of all this, the public is ever more curious to know where their food comes from and there are more and more farmers and ranchers who are only too happy to tell them. Why is this a good thing? When people know where the product they are buying comes from, they are more confident that they are making a good purchase. When consumers are confident about their purchases, they buy more. Therefore, if we tell consumers where their food comes from and how it is raised, they will buy more of it and will be more likely to defend us when we are threatened by oppressive regulations. I believe Agriculture also faces a bright future due to the work ethic and positive attitude shown by the past, current and future generations of farmers and ranchers. American agriculture feeds the world. It was also one of the few sectors of the US economy which grew in 2011. Finally, I believe in the future of Agriculture because Agriculture is America's future. True world powers don't just flex their muscle, they feed the hungry, care for the sick and stand up for those weaker than they just as we in rural America do for our neighbors, relatives and countrymen. I think the best way to sum up Agriculture's future was said by E.M. Tiffany in the FFA Creed:

"I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of deeds - achievements won by present and past generations of agriculturists; in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years."


"I believe that to live and work on a good farm, or to be engaged in other agricultural pursuits, is pleasant as well as challenging; for I know the joys and discomforts of agricultural life and hold an inborn fondness for those associations which, even in hours of discouragement, I cannot deny."

"I believe in leadership from ourselves and respect fro others. I believe in my own ability to work efficiently and think clearly, with such knowledge and skill as I can secure, and in the ability of progressive agriculturists to serve our own and the public's interest in producing and marketing the product of our toil."


"I believe in less dependence on begging and more power in bargaining; in the life abundant and enough honest wealth to help make it so - for others as well as myself; in less need for charity and more of it when needed; in being happy myself and playing square with those whose happiness depends upon me."


"I believe that American agriculture can and will hold true to the best traditions of our national life and that I can exert and influence in my home and community which will stand solid for my part in that inspiring task."

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