Gathered round the Thanksgiving bounty prepared by loving hands Thursday, we naturally said a prayer of gratitude. Among the many blessings for which to give thanks is a nation still prepared, at least on the calendar if not always in its heart, to acknowledge the influence of external forces on our good fortune. For many, it's providence. For all, it's the generous and compassionate spirit of family, friends and neighbors.
And probably too often overlooked in the expressions of gratefulness are the farmers of America.
What’s the point?
Give thanks for the farmers and ranchers who made Thursday’s meals possible.
Where would our nation be if it weren't for the food production of the American farmer and rancher?
For most, replenishing the pantry is as simple as a drive down to the nearest Walmart Neighborhood Market or Harp's. The stores are chock full of foods. But who fills the shelves of our local grocery stores?
Farmers are a hardy lot, because they have to be. They work the land knowing, even with all the advancements of modern knowledge and technology, that their productivity relies to a great extent on forces beyond their control, whether it's weather or the volatility of the markets that dictate what kinds of prices they can get for the food they produce.
With the hard work comes a payoff. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average household income of a farm operator in the United States is around $132,000. But if someone is going to be a farmer or rancher, they have to get comfortable with a certain lack of predictability. Incomes were expected to dip for 2015, driven by lower commodity prices.
It's not the kind of life everyone can get comfortable with, but there's no question our nation needs farmers and ranchers. And that's a concern for the future. The USDA reports the number of farms in the U.S. declined by 4 percent between 2007 and 2012. In the 1930s, the nation had 6.8 million farms. Today, about 2.1 million are in operation, although the ones operating today are roughly three times larger than in 1935, according to the USDA. As the number of farmers has shrunk, advancements have helped them produce more so that total farm output more than doubled between 1948 and 2011.
But farmers aren't getting any younger. The average age of the American farmer exceeds 58 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which also estimates 60,000 high-skilled agriculture job openings are expected every year over the next five years. Only 35,000 candidates with a bachelor's degree or higher in agriculture-related fields will be available to fill them based on current projections.
In late October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to spend $5.6 billion over the next two years on programs that serve new farmers and ranchers, including volumes of information to help young people get started in agriculture.
The federal agency has created www.usda.gov/newfarmers with information for those interested in pursuing those jobs, including women, young people and military veterans. The programs involved are designed to help farmers and ranchers start or expand an operation, develop new markets, increase the effectiveness of farming and conservation practices, and deliver training, according to The Associated Press.
Yes, there are a lot of things going on in the world today that raise concerns, whether it's terrorism or securing the nation's borders or how we educate our children. But little is as vital to the future of the nation -- indeed, the world -- as having a reliable food supply. And food comes from farmers. Sure, it's a job. It's their livelihood. Let's not pretend these folks are meeting the nutritional needs of the nation and the world through a sense of altruism. But we know we'd be in a rough spot if farmers were not out there doing their jobs. The nation needs more.
We commend the federal government for working to promote development of new farmers and making things a little easier on the farmers we have.
And yes, we give thanks for our farmers and ranchers, the folks who made Thursday's dinners so very good and plentiful.
Commentary on 11/27/2015