YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE

Earth Day means going about the business of growing food

By Gene Hall

While celebrations and rallies honor Earth Day tomorrow, Texas farmers and ranchers will quietly take note and go about the business of growing food.

Earth Day is really not much different than any other day for those who till the soil. The good earth is the basis of all life and taking care of it is not something that happens for farmers and ranchers once a year.

Some call what they do sustainable. Others call it green. I call it responsible.

Never have challenges been greater for farmers and ranchers. Millions of acres are lost each year to development. Weather extremes like drought or hail can trump farmers’ best efforts. There is growing competition for water.

To meet these challenges, farmers and ranchers adapt and change. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. New technologies focus on productivity and efficiency, helping the farmer or rancher use less water, fertilizer and pesticides to grow more food.

That’s important because 9 billion people will ring the dinner bell come 2050. That means farmers and ranchers will have to grow more food in the next 40 years than they have in the last 500.

While you celebrate Earth Day tomorrow, farmers and ranchers will take a moment, tip their cap in a salute to the good earth, and keep growing the food that sustains us all.

The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.

You may read this week’s editorial below or listen to the audio version.

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