Ag Day V(I)P
On March 20 America celebrated National Agriculture Day for the 45th time. The Agriculture Council of America is responsible for the creation and production of National Agriculture Day. This year’s theme was “Food for Life.” The council’s main objective is to get consumers to understand how and where their food comes from.
In Washington, National Agriculture Day is a yearly opportunity for politicians and agriculture trade associations to declare their love for farmers. It seemed more prominent this year—perhaps because it is a farm bill year.
Though a forecasted foot of snow was about to hit the Washington region on the first day of spring, that didn’t dampen the spirits of people wanting to celebrate farmers. I’ll repeat that—we were forecasted a foot of snow on the first day of spring. It’s true that Washington is unlike anywhere else.
On Ag Day, social media was abuzz with heart-warming posts about farming and thankfulness.
At the U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington, a National Agriculture Day celebration took place with the who’s who in the Washington agriculture world. On hand, of course, was Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Last year, Secretary Perdue was not yet confirmed to his current position. He was nominated mid-January and was eventually confirmed by the Senate three months later.
This year, Vice President Mike Pence joined the celebration. He gave a passionate speech about the value of American agriculture, and of course touted the Trump administration’s efforts on behalf of Rural America.
“I truly believe the greatest contribution that farmers have made throughout the long and storied history of this nation has been to the character of the nation,” Pence said.
Pence closed with reading a few lines from Paul Harvey’s famous “So God Made a Farmer” speech. Though he didn’t quite nail the cadence and timbre of Paul Harvey, he gave it a good effort. But let’s face it, no one can nail that speech like Mr. Harvey.
A day prior, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation declaring March 20, 2018, as National Ag Day. He did the same thing in 2017.
President Trump also tweeted, “Our Nation was founded by farmers. Our independence was won by farmers. And our continent was tamed by farmers. Our farmers always lead the way—we are PROUD of them, and we are delivering for them! #NationalAgricultureDay.”
On top of that, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders kicked off the daily press briefing by highlighting National Ag Day. “Today we honor the men and women who work every day to feed, fuel and clothe the people of the United States and the world,” she said.
Sanders recalled President Trump’s remarks at the Farm Bureau convention earlier in the year, saying, “Our farmers deserve a government that serves their interests and empowers them to do the hard work they love to do so much. This administration is making sure government does that…”
Editor’s note: Seymour Klierly writes Washington Whispers for the Journal from inside the Beltway.
