National Ag Day

March 25 is National Agriculture Day!  Agriculture is a bright spot in my home state of Ohio where "corn is grown and FFA members meet!"  This picture demonstrates our lifelong endeavor of educating and sharing with others.  300 people had "dinner in the field" on our farm last August.

"While market value numbers increased 32.78 percent nationally, the value of Ohio crops and livestock increased 42.28 percent. This is primarily due to a sharp increase in crop values, which increased in Ohio by 60.54 percent but only 47.85 percent nationally. Ohio is ranked 13th nationally with a total value of crop and livestock sales just over $10 billion in 2012.

While the number of farms decreased both in Ohio and in the nation, Ohio performed better than much of the country. From 2007 to 2012, Ohio lost 0.5 percent of its farms while farms nationally decreased by 4.3 percent. Ohio now ranks seventh for the number of farms in the nation with 75,462.

Also, at a time when farm acres are disappearing nationally, Ohio gained land in agricultural production.

The nation lost about 7.5 million acres of farmland since the 2007 census. In Ohio, the numbers of acres in agricultural production in Ohio increased slightly, from 13.95 million acres to 13.96 million acres."

I thank Chimel for this interesting article.  It brings to light how important food and fiber production is, especially when times get tough.  This is our best answer to a huge problem that was emphasized with the crash of our economy in 2008.

Thank a farmer today.  Farmers are key to our survival just like they have been since the beginning of time and never more true than now.  Agriculture is our backbone.

Ed Winkle