This is National Agriculture Week, and March 15 is National Agriculture Day. According to the Agricultural Council of America, Ag Day “is about recognizing - and celebrating - the contribution of agriculture in our everyday lives.”
On the surface it may seem like Ag Day is just another made up special interest day like National Teddy Bear Day (Sept. 9) and, one of my personal favorites, National Do Nothing Day (Jan. 16). But for those of us in the agricultural community, this annual celebration has taken on added importance in recent years.

It has become a rallying point around which the many diverse sectors of agriculture can come together with a common message. It is also a promotion that can be observed on the national, state, and local levels, getting everyone in agriculture involved in sharing the message.

This year Indiana has done Ag Week one better and proclaimed the entire month of March as Agriculture Appreciation Month. This is a noticeable change from what did not happen last year.

In 2010, Ag Day passed in Indiana without notice. There was no proclamation by the Governor, no official event at the state capitol, and even most of the farm groups failed to mention it on their websites. So, I took these folks to task and with some rather harsh and pointed criticism.

Whether it was this or the new sense of unity that has developed among Hoosier farm groups that caused the change, I am not sure. But, suffice it to say, the attitude both by state government and farm organizations toward Ag Day is much different this year than last.

A well-attended kickoff event took place last week at the Statehouse, and two more official, state-sponsored events are scheduled for this month. The Governor released an official proclamation; and many counties are holding a variety of events, some stretching into April.

Organizers on both the state and local levels should be commended for their energy and effort.

The message is also a little different this year. In the past, the Ag Day message has been about how affordable and safe our food supply is because of American farmers.

Traditionally, an Ag Day breakfast would only charge attendees the amount of money that goes back to the farm, to demonstrate how little the farmer gets from the retail food dollar.

This year, however, there is a lot more talk about the economic contribution agriculture brings to our state and to our local communities. Not only jobs, but investment, tax dollars and other forms of economic activity occur as a result of agriculture.

With the U.S. economy still sluggish, the booming ag economy is a stark contrast that even dull-witted television reporters can’t miss. In an editorial, Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman said, “Agriculture contributes $25 billion each year to Indiana’s economy, and it is critical to the future of our state and our ongoing efforts to achieve a complete economic rejuvenation.”

Yet, we are having a problem this Ag Day getting our message heard. Between NCAA basketball tournaments and ill-behaved, union protestors in Wisconsin and Indiana, the Ag Day message is getting lost in the clamor of beer commercials and angry voices.

The positive message of economic growth, food production and renewable energy that agriculture offers stands in sharp contrast to the vicious ranting of Charlie Sheen.

This means we are going to have to shout a little louder and longer. We may have to stretch our Ag Day celebration out until we get heard.

The message we have is important. I believe that once people hear that message they will understand and respond.

Ag Day is not preaching to the choir, but rather forming a choir to sing the same song, and to sing it very loudly.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.