The United States celebrated National Agriculture Day on March 19, the first day of spring, with festivities across all states.
This year’s celebration marked an update of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s 2021 initiative known as Food System Transformation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated 2024’s 41st national Ag Day theme to “Agriculture: Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.”
From Pandemic to Climate Protection
This update is a tweak of the 2022 theme which was was “Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.” It borrows on lessons the government learned from the COVID-19 period on the need to be foolproof to supply chain challenges.
Ag Secretary Vilsack noted during his March 19 speech how the pandemic years made everyone realize the practical importance of agriculture.
In 2020, the U.S. government paid farmers $23.5 billion in food assistance and $5.8 billion in paycheck protection loans.
This is why the 2024 celebration focused not only on environmental protection but support for new farmers to stay in business.
Across the nation, farmers marked the National Agriculture Day in various ways but all showed commitment to sustainable agriculture.
National Agriculture Day, New York
In New York, Senator Pam Helming of the 54th District took the theme by the horns by advocating for family farmers.
The senator pointed out on March 19 that New York farmers have lost 2800 farms and 364,000 acres since 2017.
She mentioned that costs of feed have risen due to weather challenges, and so have fuel and climate regulatory expenses. New York was among North East states alongside Vermont and Maine that experienced floods in 2023 which reduced livestock feed.
Leading Industry of South Dakota
Far afield in South Dakota, National Ag Day took place in Sioux Falls. Here, attendants celebrated the glory of farmers who have made agriculture the top industry of the state.
As testament to its agricultural heritage, South Dakota had 3.4 million cattle, 2.3 million pigs and 3 million turkeys in 2023.
Two years earlier, a 2021 economic survey had shown that agriculture was in SD, boasted $32.2 billion in sales. Its employment base encompassed 129,753 jobs.
Apart from beef, the state is among the top five producers of sorghum, bison, oats, honey and sunflowers in the nation.
An Illinois Breakfast
In the Midwest state of Illinois, home to over 27 million farm acres, farmers here celebrated at a power breakfast.
In Marion County, south Il., the National Ag Day celebration took place at the Farm Bureau headquarters with a free breakfast.
While it missed Illinois’ top two agricultural produce, namely corn and soybeans, the breakfast contained the third, wheat. The repast consisted of pancakes, scrambled eggs, gravy and juice, as well as milk.
The county’s farm Bureau Manager, Brad Conant praised all Americans on march 18 as producers of safe, valuable food.
Speaking of which, Conant also noted that food in the U.S is more affordable than in some countries.
On average, Illinois is the 16th most cheapest place in the U.S., with a 2022 family food budget of $9,274.
The next National Agriculture Day will take place across the U.S. on the first day of spring in March, 2025.