On this National Ag Day, celebrate our farming heroes who grow food and fiber for America

Etched into our memories as an anniversary most wish to forget, farmers and ranchers, like so many others, have been reflecting on the past year of hardship and challenges of COVID-19. Not since World War II had this nation’s agricultural markets seen such an immediate and monumental shift in audience and supply chains.

Food shelves temporarily ran out as shoppers rushed to stores. The shuttering of restaurants, schools and other institutions flipped our buying habits upside down when Americans went from spending a majority of our food budgets on meals prepared outside the home to most now being prepared in the home as many sheltered in place.

International markets, an important component of California agriculture, stopped. Ports shut down. Ships did not sail. Trucks did not cross borders. Crop prices suffered.

But this disease has also brought out some of the best in humanity, including the front-line health-care workers, first responders, truck drivers, grocery store workers and all the others who keep this nation and world operating — and, from my viewpoint, the farmers, ranchers and our phenomenal workforce, including people in the fields, packing sheds, processing plants, offices and more, who showed up every day to bless our nation with the bounty of food, fiber, flora and fuel we have.

Day-in, day-out, we in agriculture show up to work. There were uncertainties and concerns, and we were daily modifying what precautions and safety measures should be taken as the science of COVID got updated. We were designated “essential,” a term that took on additional meaning as the year marched on. Agricultural workers were seen by many as heroes, sans the cape, as they tendered the crops and livestock through the pandemic plus a catastrophic fire season and hot summer.

Hence this year’s National Ag Day, celebrated March 23, has more significance. Every March since 1973, this nation has set aside a day to celebrate the people who feed and clothe us. Agriculture is synonymous with food, but none of it happens without people, the caretakers of our crops and animals, the stewards of our land. Additionally, it truly takes a community, as we see firsthand in the Central Valley, to support our agricultural economy. From machinists and truckers to bankers and pest control advisers and more, the success of what grows around us takes thousands of hands and hearts.

American farms and ranches grow more food than anywhere else in the world. And California has more diversity than anywhere else, adding vibrant colors and tastes to the world’s plates. The San Joaquin Valley is truly the food capital of the nation.

We collectively do it with safer standards and more environmental concern than anywhere else, and we are really proud of that. In addition, we are one of the most affordable countries for food, with a smaller share of our incomes going toward food compared to most other countries.

However, it does not come easily. California is the most expensive state to farm in, by far, making it more and more difficult to compete not just with farmers in other countries but also in other states. The policies from our state government will have real consequences to the nation’s plates if we do not look at holistic solutions to the challenges our agricultural community faces. “Food grows where water flows” is a fact we cannot continue to ignore as water shortages continue. We hope governmental leadership recognizes the significance of California-grown food before it is too late.

If this past year has taught us anything, it is that our agricultural community is resilient yet human. For a year now, while our faces may have been covered by masks, our neighbors throughout the nation have seen our images toiling to bring a reliable, safe and affordable food supply to those who haven’t given much thought before to where their meals come from.

On this National Ag Day, pause and give thanks to our agricultural heroes. Recognize the diversity of food, fiber, flora and fuel gained from our nation’s agriculture is not something we can take for granted. Real people throughout the farm-to-fork process made it all happen. I give a tip of the hat to all my fellow aggies.