Nov. 16-22 proclaimed National Farm-City Week

View the Farm-City Photo Gallery.

(GAINESVILLE, Fla.) – As wise stewards and innovative entrepreneurs, dedicated farmers and ranchers improve our well-being by working to ensure a healthy and abundant agricultural supply. To succeed in this important enterprise, our farmers rely on essential partnerships with urban communities to supply, sell and deliver finished products across the country and around the world. National Farm-City Week, celebrated annually on the week leading to and ending on Thanksgiving Day, recognizes the importance of this cooperative network to the success of America’s agricultural industry.

“Our farmers know how to grow the 280 different commodities that we produce in the state of Florida,” said John Hoblick, president of Florida Farm Bureau Federation. “They also know that it takes many other partnerships in order for that food to get to America’s table, and it’s the success of those partnerships that we celebrate during Farm-City Week.”

Today, the agricultural industry provides us with many of the necessities of life, such as food, clothing and fuel for our energy needs. Agriculture employs more than 24 million workers including farmers, shippers, processors, marketers, grocers, truck drivers, inspectors and others in America who annually contribute more than $1.3 trillion to our gross domestic product.

Farm-city collaborations help maintain and improve our nation’s food supply and contribute to a better quality of life for countless citizens,” said Hoblick. “With this Farm-City Week observance, we commend the many Americans whose hard work and ingenuity reflect the true spirit of America and help ensure a prosperous future for all.”

Where does Florida agriculture fit into this equation? Florida has 44,000 farmers who grow more than 280 different crops on a commercial scale – that’s more than any other state except California – with cash receipts totaling over $6.7 billion. Florida agriculture has an annual impact of $97.8 billion to the state’s economy.

“Through our farm-city partnerships, agriculture has an enormous economic impact on our state,” said Hoblick.

How are they getting the job done? Florida farmers employed more than 94,000 farm workers, and overall the industry supports over 388,000 jobs in the state.

And what about the environment? About two-thirds of Florida is farmland and forests. More than 30 percent is devoted to agriculture, which includes crop production as well as improved pastures, woodlands and open spaces, and nearly 40 percent, representing commercial forestry, is covered with trees. These well-managed, productive lands help preserve Florida’s environment by providing green space, conserving water and protecting wildlife habitat.

Farmers and ranchers, growers and producers, care about their environment. According to a U.S. Geological Survey report, Florida farmers reduced their groundwater withdrawals 7 percent by installing more efficient irrigation systems and implementing other Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as using reclaimed wastewater and stored rainfall. During the same period, withdrawal for public supply increased by 7 percent due to population growth.

Agricultural crops provide the same environmental benefits as natural vegetation. Plants and trees emit water into the atmosphere through transpiration, contributing to the hydrologic cycle that produces rainfall. Once land is paved over it cannot absorb the water and recharge the aquifer. Agricultural land does not waste rainfall. Water not absorbed by plants or evaporated into the atmosphere is returned to the soil where it replenishes the aquifer and provides groundwater for other uses.

Agricultural land also provides homes for Florida’s unique wildlife such as alligators, bald eagles, panthers and wood storks. Many farms and ranches have established management programs to maintain wildlife habitat.

With agriculture as a cornerstone of our nation’s security and way of life, America’s farmers and ranchers provide the safest, most abundant and most affordable food supply in the world. It’s important to remember, though, that American agriculture reaches far beyond the farm or ranch. It is an industry that includes many urban and suburban residents who help process, sell and trade the nation’s food and fiber. We remember those 24 million American workers, about 17 percent of the total U.S. workforce, who are involved.

National Farm-City Week strives to increase understanding, cooperation and relationships between rural and urban residents. As this year’s commemoration again culminates on Thanksgiving, all Americans are encouraged to thank someone who helps make it possible for you and your family to enjoy the bounty of our food supply. It’s a partnership summed up best whether you are from the farm or the city as, “Let’s eat!”

The Florida Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general-interest agricultural association with more than 141,000 member-families statewide. There are Farm Bureaus in 62 counties in Florida, where agriculture comprises a stable, vital leg of Florida’s economy, rivaling the tourism industry in economic importance. Headquartered in Gainesville, the Federation is an independent, non-profit agricultural organization and is not associated with any arm of government. More information is available on the organization’s website, http://FloridaFarmBureau.org.