OPINION: NATIONAL AGRICULTURE WEEK 2020 (3/21/2020)

With COVID-19 continuing to impact communities across the country, now more than ever, we need to recognize the importance of the agriculture industry. Sunday, March 22^nd marks the beginning of National Agriculture Week and it’s the perfect time to remind our fellow Americans of the importance of the agriculture industry.  It’s no accident Americans enjoy the safest, most affordable and most abundant food supply in the world.

In the face of an emerging worldwide pandemic, Americans have begun to practice social distancing, settling into isolation and uncertainty.  Many question the strength of economy or healthcare system.  Yet our nation’s true backbone, our agriculture industry, remains strong.   Throughout this crisis, our nation’s farmers and ranchers continue to work tirelessly to produce the food and fiber we rely on.

National Agriculture Week is all about educating consumers. From the food we eat to the shirt on our back, agriculture influences our lives 365 days of the year. Throughout this national crisis, TDA has remained committed to a high level of service to the citizens of Texas. Texas agriculture alone is over a $100 billion-dollar industry and leads the nation in cattle, cotton, hay, sheep, wool, goat, mohair and horse production.

National Agriculture Week is also a time for farmers and ranchers to share their passion for what they do. Spending late nights and early mornings out in the field or down in the barn working until the job is done. They stay busy tending to livestock, hauling feed and baling the last of the years hay. They work in the heat of summer and in the bitter cold of winter. They make time to educate the youth and invest in the future generation of agriculture. Most importantly, they wake up loving what they do and lay down at night praying they can do it all again the following day.

This year, National Agriculture Week is March 22-28. I ask that you take a moment to thank your local farmers and ranchers for their commitment to the agriculture industry. We are blessed to live in America, where even in difficult times, we are blessed to enjoy an abundant and safe food suppy from right here at home -- all thanks to agriculture. To all our farmers and ranchers, may God bless you, your families and our great nation.

An eighth-generation Texas farmer and rancher, Sid Miller is the 12th Commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). A ten-time world champion rodeo cowboy, he has devoted his life to promoting Texas agriculture, rural communities and the western heritage of Texas.