Celebrate National Ag Day on March 20


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SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
NEWS RELEASE
 
For Immediate Release: March 10, 2009
Contact: George Williams, (605) 773-5425
 
 
Celebrate National Ag Day on March 20
 
(Pierre, SD)---Agriculture is an important part of every American’s life. Whether making a sandwich for lunch, putting on a colorful cotton t-shirt, giving a bale of hay to the cattle, or filling up your car with ethanol at the local service station, agriculture provides the food, fiber, feed and fuel that we use every day. This is the message celebrated each year on the first day of spring—National Agriculture Day (Ag Day).
 
Ag Day (March 20th) is the culmination of National Agriculture Week, held from March 15 - 21, 2009. The Agricultural Council of America started this annual event in 1973 to raise awareness about an industry that impacts every American on a daily basis.
 
As Secretary of Agriculture Bill Even noted, “The first day of spring is the perfect time for South Dakotans to take a moment and reflect on the abundance provided by our farms and ranches. As we look to the next growing season, everyone should understand how food, fiber, feed and renewable fuels are produced and appreciate the impact agriculture has on our daily lives.” 
 
Indeed, each year one American farmer produces food for 144 people in the United States and abroad. Agricultural products are woven into everyone’s lives—our homes, clothes, food, fuel, and medicines all come from this vital industry. In South Dakota alone, agriculture’s economic impact totals more than $19.2 billion each year. This represents more than one-third of the state’s total economic activity. 
 
The Ag Day program is committed to increasing public awareness of agriculture by helping Americans to recognize and celebrate the role of agriculture in our everyday lives. The National Ag Day program encourages every American to:
 
  • Understand how food and fiber products are produced.
  • Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.
  • Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.
 
What can you do to get involved?  
  • Invite local students to a working farm/ranch.
  • Invite a local farm or ranch family to your school.
  • Have students trace their lunch back to a farm.
  • Look at the impact of agriculture beyond just the farm level. 
Each year, the National Agriculture Day program gathers members of the agricultural industry in an effort to promote American agriculture. Join their effort to showcase American agriculture during National Agriculture Week, March 15-21, 2009. For more information, contact the Agriculture Council of America at (913) 491-1895 or on the web at www.agday.com.
 
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