"MMMM ... these mashed potatoes are delicious," I told my grandma as we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at her house this past November. Her face lit up, and she proceeded to tell us grandkids about the potatoes and other vegetables from her garden, then segued to talking about the bountiful crop of wheat, sunflowers, and corn she and grandpa had been blessed with as well. Her pride in raising the food to feed her family - and the world’s - as she's done for some 50 years was evident.
Soon the dinner table conversation turned to my dad, uncle and grandpa discussing the corn and soybean crop and looking ahead to spring planting. Talk of crop rotations, cover crops and using precision ag tools to add efficiency and care for the land pepper the conversation. So too does talk of grandpa's retirement. He's nearing 73 and has spent his life on this farm - the same farm his dad operated. My uncle and his family already live on the farm but will be transitioning into more of the farm management and ownership in the near future.
"Did you know that China is the most populated country in the world?" my cousin says as she interrupts the conversation. She recently traveled to China for a college class and begins telling stories, noting that most of China's 1.3 billion people live in cities and that they - like many countries around the globe - do not have the fertile farmland or skilled farmers to produce enough food. Hence, they rely heavily on ag imports - many from American farms - to feed their growing population.
I gaze out the window at the cows on the pasture - and see a deer dash into the shelterbelt of trees. My gaze extends to the grain elevator and water tower of the nearby community silhouetted on the horizon. I think about the many families, like mine, who rely on farming for their livelihood. But I also realize the local bank, school, grocery store and other businesses - from the auto dealer to the insurance agent to the gas station - are all intertwined with the agricultural economy. This interconnectedness with agriculture among families, communities and economies is mirrored across my state, across the nation and around the world.
As I ponder this day of gratitude and thanksgiving, I am overwhelmed by my family's farming heritage. While we often think of food merely as sustenance, I see much more. Agriculture is a livelihood for families and a stewardship of natural resources - from generation to generation. Agriculture fuels and feeds countries who cannot sustain themselves. Agriculture encompasses - and enhances - the entire environment, harnessing soil, water, sunlight to produce food, habitat, employment - all existence. Indeed, agriculture truly is "food for life."
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Gordon, of Whitewood, S.D., is the National Ag Day written essay winner for 2017. He will receive a $1,000 prize and travel to Washington for recognition during the National Press Club Event on March 21. The national video essay winner for 2017 is Hadassah McKinley from Bella Vista, Calif. She will win a $1,000 prize for her video, which can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8GcQz1cXt0 . National Ag Day since 1973 has been put on by the Agriculture Council of America, an organization composed of leaders in agriculture, food and fiber communities dedicated to increasing public awareness of agriculture’s vital role in our society. For more information, visit https://www.agday.org . Ag Day is March 21.
