Celebrate Farmers And Ranchers During National Ag Week

Consumers, farmers and ranchers have plenty to celebrate during Ag Week, held this year March 17-23. Ag Day was March 19 with the theme, “Agriculture. Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.” America’s farmers and ranchers are proud to grow the safe and sustainable food, fiber and renewable fuel we all rely on.

“Farmers have voluntarily placed millions of acres into conservation and forestry programs through the farm bill,” noted MFBF President Cyndi Johnson, a wheat farmer from Conrad. “Farmers are using less land than ever before while producing more. Thirty years ago, it would have taken 100 million more acres to produce the same amount of food, feed and fuel that farmers are growing today. That is an impressive statistic. Plus, we are using precision agriculture and sustainable methods of farming and grazing that are positively affecting our environment.”

As for celebrating with food about food, Americans spend a total of $14 billion each year on holiday meals like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July other momentous occasions.

Fun Facts for Ag Week:

Of the 11 percent of disposable income Americans spend on food each year, the dollars are split fairly evenly between food eaten at home and dining out, takeout or delivery.

On average, one U.S. farm feeds 166 people annually in the U.S. and abroad.

Americans enjoy a food supply that is abundant, affordable and among the world’s safest, thanks in large part to the efficiency and productivity of America’s farm and ranch families.

Women make up 36 percent of the total number of U.S. farm operators; 58 percent of all farms have at least one female decision-maker.

Montana continues to rank number-one in the country in chickpeas, dry edible peas and lentils produced. They came in second for durum wheat.

As of Jan. 1, 2023 there were 2,160,000 cows and calves in Montana.

Montana has 27,100 farms and ranches on 581 million acres of land, ranking second in size just behind Texas. 1.9 million farms dot America’s rural landscape, and 95% are operated by families – individuals, family partnerships or family corporations.

For more information on Ag Day, visit agday.org. For more information on sustainable farming and ranching visit fb.org/issue/sustainability. Statistics about Montana agriculture can be found at agr.mt.gov/Statistics.