National Ag Day is approaching

Mar 10, 2016

March 15 celebrates agriculture and its impacts on society

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Each day of the year appears to have its own celebration.

May 4 is celebrated as “National Orange Juice Day,” July 15 is considered “National I Love Horses Day” and October 18 is recognized as “National Chocolate Cupcake Day.”

While many of these days are celebrated for fun, March 15, National Ag Day, is a chance to celebrate agriculture in the United States and its many impacts on society.

National Ag Day

“National Agriculture Day serves as a reminder that agriculture is part of us all,” said Scott Heiberger, spokesman for the U.S. Ag Centers in a press release. “And we want to highlight how important the health and wellbeing of people in agriculture is to our society.”

The day, which falls during National Ag Week (March 13-19), encourages people to understand how food is produced, appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe and affordable products, agriculture’s place in the economic landscape and educate the public about possible careers in agriculture.

Many organizations will be hosting events during the week to celebrate agriculture, including:

During National Ag Day, Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa will host a celebration of agriculture which includes livestock demonstrations, tractor displays and pollinator activities.
On Saturday, March 19, there will be free admission to the Kirby Science Discovery Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Exhibitors will be on hand and children will be able to participate in a variety of activities including making their own trail mix and taking seeds home to plant.

At least one Canadian organization will host an event on National Ag Day.

The Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Vineland, Ontario will host AgSafe Family Day. The day will include how families can prepare a safety plan, a women in ag session and a Canadian Ag Safety Week kickoff.

Use the hashtags #AgDay2016, #farmsafety and #USAGCenters to follow along with the celebrations on social media.

How will you celebrate National Ag Day?

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.