Washington, D.C., celebrated National Ag Day last week with a number of events including a “Celebration of Agriculture” dinner held at USDA. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said, “On this National Agriculture Day, we recognize the American farmers, ranchers and growers who do so much for our country, producing the food our children need to grow up healthy and reach their full potential. Many here in Washington, and in other parts of the country, don’t always realize all that rural America does for us. Less than one-tenth of 1% of Americans is responsible for growing 85% of our food. That gives the other 99% of us the great privilege of doing whatever else we want to do with our lives, which is an incredible freedom we take for granted in this country.

“When we go to the grocery store, we walk out of it with more money in our pocket as a percentage of our paychecks than people in many other countries in the world, and we can feel confident that the food we are feeding our families is wholesome and safe. That is truly something to celebrate.”

National Ag Day was started in 1973 by the Agriculture Council of America to increase the public’s awareness of agriculture role in society.