A Life Without Agriculture

March 22 was National Agriculture Day, and it got me thinking; where would we be without the men and women of the AG world? Every day we wake up, throw off the cotton blanket we slept under, make our eggs and drink our milk, put on our cotton shirts, and go on about our day. Notice a pattern?

Almost everything we touch, wear, eat or drink comes from someone in the agriculture industry. According to the Farm Bureau, “One U.S. farm feeds 166 people annually in the U.S. and abroad.” How mind-blowing is it that one little farm in rural America feeds that many people. According to the National Cotton Council, the USDA estimated a crop of 18.51 million bales of cotton. One bale of cotton can make 215 pairs of jeans; 249 bedsheets; 313,600 $100 bills; 690 bath towels; or 1,217 T-shirts. So imagine now, try and imagine a world without cotton farmers.

Along with providing food and clothes, the agriculture industry provides jobs that stimulate the economy. According to the USDA website, 10.3 percent of the U.S is employed in the agriculture industry. This means 19.7 million full-and part-time jobs were related to agriculture. Agriculture, food, and related industries also contributed $1.055 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2020.

So back to my original thought, where would we be without the men and women in agriculture? The short answer is naked, lacking the essential nutrients needed, cashless, and having to air dry from the shower. These statistics are only the surface of how important the agriculture industry is to not only the world but the functionality of our everyday life.

So next time you see someone who plays a role in the agriculture industry, tell them thank you.