On National Agriculture Day, honor America’s farmers and ranchers

Throughout history, until quite recently, the threat of hunger and famine was a constant, global menace.  While there are still far too many hungry people in the world and big challenges ahead, in America and in a large share of the world, the threat of hunger is no longer an overhanging fear.

In fact, the abundance and variety of food we can afford to enjoy entices most of us to take for granted what farmers and others in the food chain provide for us.  So this is a day to give honor and credit to all of America’s farmers and ranchers, the people who supply them, and those who process, transport, and distribute food.

Today is also a day to recognize the good stewardship that farmers apply to our nation’s land, water, and other natural resources, and to note how much they are now contributing to our energy security and a cleaner environment through biofuels and other farm-based renewable energy.

Tremendous credit is due to farming families and the many people in agricultural businesses and lines of work across America. At the same time, American agriculture is a prime example of how cooperation, neighborliness, and working together pay off in successes that no one individual alone could achieve.

The success of American agriculture also demonstrates the crucial importance of sound, commonsense public policy, whether at the federal, state or local level. Consider, for example, the large beneficial impacts from the Homestead Act, or the Morrill Act establishing land grant colleges, or the federal agricultural, conservation, and rural economic initiatives begun during the Great Depression.

As we celebrate American agriculture, let us also honor our longstanding national commitment to ensuring that all American families have the ability to put food on the table and partake in our agricultural abundance.

Sen. Harkin is the senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

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