Always thank a farmer for your food. Want to know what kind of farmer you were meant to be? Take a short quiz on www.Thankful4Ag.com and discover your farming alter-ego. Mine was a……..potato farmer! Not quite what I was expecting as I’ve never grown a potato in my life! When you take this quiz and post your results on social media, Bayer Crop Science will donate $1 to Feeding America to feed hungry families.
I was very lucky growing up. I had the privilege of growing up on a family farm where stepping out the back door of my home led to new adventures each day. There were pastures to roam, creeks and ravines to explore, animals to tend to and chores to finish, all while learning lifelong values of hard work, patience, generosity, compassion and family togetherness. Life on a farm is not always easy, but as a kid, it was an idyllic way to grow up and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
Even if you didn’t grow up on a farm, you too can and should be thankful for the farmers of today. We all have to eat and they are the ones making sure that happens. The tradition continues of passing on these same values to their own families while diligently working to feed all of us.
There are those who believe corporations are in charge of growing and harvesting our food. Not so. According to the United States Department of Agricultural’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), family-owned farms remain the backbone of the agricultural industry.
If you live in an urban setting and there’s not a farmstead in sight, here are some facts that may shine a light on things you didn’t know about family farming:
- 97% pf the 2.1 million farms in the United States are family owned operations.
- 88% of all United States farms are small family farms.
- Farmers only see about 19 cents out of every dollar Americans spend to buy the food they grow.
- The obesity epidemic in the United States should not be blamed on farmers. Farmers and ranchers produce wholesome, natural products that are staples of a healthy diet. The problem arises when food processors choose to turn the food produced into unhealthy products that may taste good but have little nutritional value.
- The average American farmer today feeds 155 people each year.
- In 2011, nearly 75% of farmers reported spending 10 hours or more a day on farm work.
- Currently, only 4.6 million people live on a farm – slightly less than 2% of the total United States population.
- Most farmers and ranchers are trained and certified in the use of agricultural chemicals.
- Thanks to modern technology, American farmers and ranchers are producing more food on fewer acres, leaving more open space for wildlife habitat.
- Precision farming practices boost crop yields to reduce waste by using satellite maps and computers to match seeds, fertilizer and crop protection applications to local soil conditions.
- The basic products farmers produce are usually not the source of bacterial diseases. After the products leave the farm, however, milk, meat and other high-protein foods, on occasion, can be subject to contamination during processing, handling, storing and the actual preparation of the food.
- Americans spend about 10% of their income on food, the lowest of any country.
- The world’s population will jump from 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050. Farmers will need to double food production to keep pace.
- Farming employs more than 24 million American workers (17% of the total work force).
- Farmers today produce 262% more food than they did in 1950.
In honor of the American farmer and to show your thanks for the food they produce, visit Thank4Ag to discover what kind of farmer you are meant to be by taking a very short quiz. Share your results on social media and Bayer Crop Science will make a donation $1 which will help provide 11 meals to “Feeding America.” Visit Feeding America to learn more of the work they do.
Resources on farming facts and statistics:
