Here we are again: National Agriculture Week. From March 15-21, all Americans will be supporting agriculture. Those of us who work in the agricultural field will be supporting it through a variety of events designed to showcase and educate people about their food supply.
The rest of the nation will be supporting agriculture by eating. The Agriculture Council of American coordinates national activities and distributes materials via their website www.agday.org

They offer a lapel pins, postcards and posters. They have fact sheets, lesson plans, and even pre-written newspaper articles about agriculture. Lacking are some catchy slogans that will penetrate today’s media noise. According to the Ag Day website, “World population is at 6.5 billion today, and is expected to reach 8.04 billion by the year 2025.” The Ag Day material assures us that, “The United States is best positioned to meet this growing need.”
One-fourth of the world’s beef and nearly one-fifth of the world’s grain, milk and eggs are produced in the United States. In addition to a strong supply message, the Ag Day material stresses the value of U.S. produced food.

This is especially timely given the current economic state of many U.S. households.

There is a strong environment message that is part of the Ag Day message. Biotechnology and global positing are cited as ways farmers today can increase productivity and safeguard the environment.

“Precision farming boosts crop yields and reduces waste by using satellite maps and computers to match seed, fertilizer and crop protection applications to local soil conditions.”

While all this is very nice, very professional, and absolutely accurate, I question how effective it is in really reaching the consumer of today. I would like to suggest a few ideas that are not contained in the Ag Day website.

First of all, our Ag Day messages should be placed where consumers are thinking about food: the grocery store, the fast food drive thru, or the pizza carry out menu. One of the problems we have today is that consumers cannot connect the dots between agricultural production and their stomach.

When we talk about the value of the U.S. food supply, we need to provide consumers with perspective. For example, we should point out that a gallon of bottled water costs significantly more than a gallon of milk Instead of trying to explain to non-farm folks how and why we do things on the farm, let’s just compare our production to other sectors of the economy.

With these guidelines in mind here are a few Ag Day materials you can use this week:

•A banner over the milk case that reads, “If this were bottled water, you would pay about $8 per gallon.”

•A note on the egg case that reads, “The chickens that laid these eggs eat better than you do.”

•A sign hanging in the produce section that reads, “American farmers use fewer chemicals on their crops than you use on your lawn.”

•A sign on the menu board at a fast food drive thru, “This beef was produced without a government subsidy or bailout.”

•A sign over the water fountain at a local University that reads, “Your city municipality dumps more raw sewage into our drinking water supply than any livestock farm.”

•A label on the fuel pump at your local gas station that reads, “This fuel was made from 90 percent oil, imported from a nation that hates you and everything you stand for. It has been blended with 10 percent ethanol, produced by your neighbors down the road who pay taxes to support your schools.”

Now get out there and celebrate National Agriculture Week.

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.