Celebrating American agriculture on National Ag Day
By Russell Boening
Texas Farm Bureau President
National Ag Day is March 18.
It’s a day for all of us to celebrate the abundance provided by American agriculture and recognize the farmers and ranchers who make it possible.
Every American should be encouraged to understand how food, fiber and fuel products are grown and raised.
We should all appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.
Agriculture plays an essential role in maintaining a strong economy, and there are career opportunities to consider in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.
We are truly blessed as a nation.
For example, American consumers spend 6.7% of their disposable income on food consumed at home.
By comparison, consumers in South Korea (12%), Germany (12%), France (14%), Japan (16%), Brazil (16%), China (20%) and Mexico (26%) spend a much larger percentage of their disposal income on food consumed at home.
America’s farmers and ranchers are the world’s most productive. Today, each farm produces food and fiber for 169 people annually in the U.S. and abroad.
Of those 169 people, 108 are in the U.S., and 61 are outside of the U.S.
These are not non-family corporations or other entities dotting the landscape, either. Ninety-seven percent of all U.S. farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations, like my family’s farm and ranch in Wilson County.
That’s important to remember.
Another remarkable fact about our American food supply is that farmers and ranchers receive only 15 cents (on average) out of every retail dollar spent at home and away from home.
Off-farm costs—marketing expenses associated with processing, wholesaling, distributing and retailing of food products—account for 85 cents of every retail dollar spent on food.
The farmer’s share of the retail food dollar is as low as 2% to 4% for bread and cereal.
Modern U.S. agriculture is the envy of the world.
National Ag Day is a great time to celebrate it.
Russell Boening is a full-time farmer and rancher from Wilson County. He grows feed grains, cotton and wheat, as well as operates a dairy and a beef cattle operation with his brother near Floresville. He was elected president of Texas Farm Bureau in 2014.
America’s farmers and ranchers continue to produce more with fewer resources, using innovation and technology to increase efficiency while being responsible stewards of the land.