Agriculture, the backbone of our economy | Tyrolean

Around the country this morning, men and women in each region and of each state rise to cultivate food, fibers and renewable fuels on which Americans depend. Most of them have been working for hours before Sunup this morning, and many will still work while the sun dives under the horizon tonight. The days are long on the farm and the work is difficult. Farmers and breeders are not afraid of the hard working day. We know that our nation is counting on us, not only to keep our food supply safe, but also to help fuel our economy.

The latest report in the food of the economy highlights the essential role that American agriculture plays in our economy. While less than 2% of Americans are farmers, 100% of Americans need a farmer every day. Farmers are the key to a long supply chain, manufacturers of tractors upstream to downstream grocery stores. Today, this supply chain directly represents more than a seventh in the American economy. In 2024, the direct and indirect economic impact of the agricultural supply chain totaled 9.5 billions of dollars, or a third of the American economy. To put this in terms of global economy, if the American agricultural supply chain was its own country, it would support the third economy in the world. Let it sink for a minute. It is a success of the United States.

The economic value of agriculture also feeds jobs. In 2024, direct employment in the supply chain for food and agriculture increased by more than a million jobs. In total, jobs directly in the food and agricultural supply chain represent 15% of employment in the United States, for a total of more than 24 million jobs. When you add all the work supported by agriculture, yields are almost overtaken. Scientists and researchers to truck engineers and drivers, farmers and breeders and their supply chain support more than 47 million jobs in the United States

As farmers and breeders know it from personal and personal experience, yields are not guaranteed. A good season – or even a dozen good seasons – does not guarantee the following. We cannot take agriculture for acquired. Most consumers have had an overview of this truth with empty grocery shelves at the height of the coco-9 pandemic, and with the egg shortage this year. But our memories can be short, and most people do not understand the great pressures that farmers and breeders face.

Inflation and the increase in labor costs to an obsolete agricultural bill, many farmers operate on thin margins of razors, and some cannot keep a better season. Agricultural bankruptcies increased by 55% from 2023 to 2024, and more than 141,000 farms went bankrupt from 2017 to 2022, according to the USDA agriculture census. I give these reminders not to despair but to remind us how important it is that we were determined to strengthen American agriculture. This is why Farm Bureau actively engages with Washington legislators and leaders and across the country. From Capitol Hill to federal agencies, we take a seat at the table to meet the challenges that agriculture is faced. We know that Americans are counting on farmers and farmers are counting on us.

Farmers and breeders have been raising American cultivated products for generations. And if we want to keep agriculture strong to ensure a secure food supply and to help feed our economy, we must make sure that farmers and breeders have the tools they need. Farm Bureau undertakes to be the main voice of agriculture because we understand how high the issues are for farmers, breeders and rural communities. Our nation is stronger when farmers and breeders have resources, tools and freedom to do what we do best: feed our nation and our economy.