The Montana Farm Bureau is celebrating National Agriculture Week March 14-20. This is a time to thank farmers and ranchers for a job well done. National Ag Day is March 20, the first day of spring.

“Agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use and wear on a daily basis. But too few people truly understand this contribution,” notes MFBF President Bob Hanson, a cattle rancher from White Sulphur Springs. “This is particularly the case in our schools, where students may only be exposed to agriculture if they enroll in related vocational training. We need to reach out to the young people and teach them about what we do on our farms and ranches and why we do it.”

“Celebrating Ag Week is a great way to celebrate our heritage of ranching from even before the homestead days,” said Jim Steinbeisser, a Sidney-area rancher and Richland County Farm Bureau member. “Ag Week makes me proud of the groundwork our ancestors laid for they have made things easier. There are a few of those long-abandoned homestead cabins on our ranch, and it makes me appreciate all the hardships folks went through before us, even my grandfather and my father. I want to thank them, and everyone in farming and ranching today who has carried on the tradition.” Hanson pointed out that each American farmer/rancher feeds more than 144 people, a dramatic increase from 25 people in the 1960s. They’ve introduced more efficient farming practices to reduce pesticide and herbicide use, along with implementing no-till farming to reduce erosion.

“Keep in mind, too, agriculturalists are the reason for a lot of our open space. Private land owners provide 75 percent of the habitat for wildlife,” notes Hanson. “If it weren’t for our farms and ranches, a lot of that land would be converted to shopping centers and houses. Let’s face it, farmers and ranchers are providing food for our country. Home-grown food means more national security.”

By building awareness, the Agriculture Council of America is encouraging young people to consider career opportunities in agriculture.

“Many people think agriculture is simply producing the food, but there’s s a lot more to it. More than 22 million people are involved in ag, whether they’re designing or selling tractors, working in a processing plant, stocking shelves in the a grocery store or marketing our products,” notes Hanson. “Of course, since the average age of a farmer is 55, we still need a lot of young people go to get involved in actual food production. It’s a great way of life, and it is very rewarding to know you’re feeding and clothing not only Americans, but people all over the world.”

The efficiency of U.S. farmers benefits the U.S. consumer in the pocketbook. Americans spend less on food than any other developed nation in the world. On average in 2004, Americans spent only 2 percent of their disposable income on meat and poultry, compared to 4.1 percent in 1970. American s spend less than 10 percent of their disposable income on food, in general.

“Be sure to thank farmers and ranchers in Montana when you sit down to eat that Montana-produced steak, potato and dinner rolls,” Hanson said.