CELEBRATING NATIONAL FARM-CITY WEEK

Did you know the average grocery store stocks more than 30,000 items? If you’re thankful for all of the items in your grocery store, then you need to join in celebrating National Farm-City Week. We’re blessed in our country to be able to go to our local grocery stores and find a wide variety of food that has been grown following the safest quality standards in the world, but the food at the local grocery doesn’t just magically appear on the shelves, farmers work all year to produce beef, milk, pork, chicken, vegetables and many other good safe things for us to eat. Then, employees of agribusinesses work to prepare, market and transport the food to stores for consumers. It takes all of us to feed and clothe America and this partnership is what we’re celebrating with Farm-City Week.

The National Farm-City Council will celebrate Farm-City Week Nov. 18-24. This year marks the 56th anniversary of the annual celebration. National Farm-City Week is celebrated each year beginning the Friday before Thanksgiving and ending Thanksgiving Day. The Kiwanis International began National Farm-City Week in 1955 to increase the understanding of the partnership between urban and rural residents and to focus on their interdependence. Farm days at schools, farm tours, banquets and mayoral proclamations are just a few of the observances that will be held in communities across the country to mark this annual event. The safe, plentiful food that is available to us, and the products used to produce the clothing, housing, medicines, fuel and other products we use on a daily basis, didn’t just appear in a store. They got there thanks to a tremendous partnership of farmers and ranchers, processors, brokers, truckers, shippers, advertisers, wholesalers, and retailers.
Farm-City Week is a great time to discuss how the economy is impacting farmers and consumers. Although farmers have received higher prices for their crops in the past year, they are also experiencing record-high production costs. Production costs have increased from last year due to higher fuel, seed, fertilizer and irrigation costs, the economists say. USDA statistics show farmers receive only 16 cents out of every dollar spent on food at home and away from home. The rest of the food cost covers the expenses of wages and materials for food preparation, marketing, transportation and distribution, all of which have increased in price recently.
The National Farm-City Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing links between farm families and urban residents, has launched a Facebook page supporting the mission of the organization. You are encouraged to visit the site to discover what the various Farm-City units are doing to tell the story of agriculture to urban residents. As the social media are playing an increasingly important role in fostering better communication between rural and urban citizens, it's fundamental to use these mediums to communicate to core audiences the importance of agriculture to our very existence. To visit the page go to Facebook and simply search for “National Farm-City Council” and click "Like" at the top of the page. Organizers of the event are also suggesting a brand new children’s book that can be placed in children’s hands and in school libraries across the country that relates to agriculture. The book, “Growing Up Strong” is written by Dan Yunk and is published by Kansas Farm Bureau. It was written to educate young people, parents, and teachers about the importance of agriculture in their lives.
We have been celebrating Thanksgiving since 1863 — together we can give thanks for the unity of city and country life blending the format and future for generations to come. It brings thoughts of the old prayer. “May your blessings be plenty and your harvest be full.” This applies to both our agriculture producers and their city brethren. As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year and list the things for which you’re thankful, consider adding the farmers and urban agribusiness employees who helped get the food you will eat this holiday season to your table. Americans are reminded of their blessings and many reasons to be thankful. It is the hope of the organizers that all residents can take a moment to reflect on the importance of agriculture and how it brings city and country life together. One could not survive without the other.