FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 14, 2011
For more information contact:
Bill Clary
(502) 564-1137

 

Give thanks for America's abundant food supply - and the people who make it possible

By Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer

It’s easy to take agriculture for granted. Most Americans can find all the food that we ever could want just a short drive away, no matter where we live. For most of us, it has always been this way. We have come to expect it, and we may fail to appreciate the complex, efficient system that makes that possible, or the people who make that system work.

That system consists of a diverse mix of professions – processors, truckers, wholesalers and retailers, as well as advertisers, researchers, brokers and bankers – whose combined efforts result in all those gleaming stores with shelves overflowing with food. But, of course, it all starts with the farmer.

Farmers provide us the safest, most abundant, and most affordable food supply in the world as well as many other products that we depend upon for our quality of life. Here in Kentucky, farmers are our friends and neighbors, our community leaders, people we see at church and at the store and at the game. Many of their farms have been in their families for generations, even centuries.

Farmers must endure economic uncertainty, unfavorable weather, physical dangers, and other risks that most of us could not bear. For them, it’s just part of the job.

I consider it a privilege to have met many farmers in my nearly eight years as your commissioner of agriculture. I have found them to be smart, resourceful, resilient, and absolutely dedicated to their noble work. I have forged friendships with many of these fine men and women that I hope will last the rest of my days.
Farmers are the center of a far-reaching team that produces and delivers America’s food from the farm to our tables. Like any other great team, this team works together, each individual filling his role and bringing her strengths to bear, to achieve a common goal.

This Thanksgiving, as you express your gratitude for the blessings in your life, please join me in saying a prayer for our farmers and everyone else who makes it possible for us to enjoy an abundant feast on this holiday and every day.