National Ag Day is March 18, with the theme, “Together We Grow.” As the world population soars, there is even greater demand for the food, fiber, and renewable resources produced in the United States.
2025 National Ag Day marks the 52nd year of the nationwide effort to share real stories of American agriculture and remind citizens that agriculture affects everyone. From the food we eat and the fuel for our vehicles, to the fiber in the clothes we wear, and the oil used to make kids’ crayons, agriculture touches everyone in some way, every day.
Are you looking for a meaningful career? More and more, students and individuals are finding careers in agriculture, food, or natural resources. The industry needs scientists, biologists, food safety technicians, economists, livestock nutrition specialists, arborists, foresters, conservationists, animal husbandry workers, agronomists, grain merchandisers, and more. If you have a passion in one of these or a related area, your intellect, skills and talent can reach their fullest potential in agriculture and its related areas. These professionals, farmers, and committed farm hands are direly needed. If you’re willing to work, there’s most likely a place for you.
According to USDA Economic Research Service in 2022, 22.1 million full- and part-time jobs were related to the agricultural and food sectors—10.4 percent of total U.S. employment. Direct on-farm employment accounted for about 2.6 million of these jobs, or 1.2 percent of U.S. employment. Employment in agriculture- and food-related industries supported another 19.6 million jobs. Of this, food services, eating and drinking places accounted for the largest share—12.7 million jobs—and food/beverage stores supported 3.3 million jobs. The remaining agriculture-related industries together added another 3.5 million jobs.
As a consumer, we can sometimes take for granted the availability, price, safety, quantity, and quality of our food. Even with recent inflation, we have some of the best food available at the best price anywhere in the world.
Consumers should also understand that food doesn’t magically appear in the grocery store. Farmers produced that food through a lot of dedication and hard work. Food handlers and processors ensured it safely arrived in the grocery for you to select, prepare, and share with your family.
Back in January, I wrote about some of the rankings of recent Indiana agricultural production, of which Whitley County is certainly a contributor.
Statewide in 2023, Indiana ranked as follows on crops among all states: corn for grain, 5th; soybeans, 4th; peppermint, 4th; spearmint, 3rd; watermelon, 5th; and pumpkins, 3rd. For livestock, Indiana ranks 5th in all hogs (as of Dec. 1, 2023), and 3rd in all chickens (as of Dec. 1, 2023). We ranked 9th in pig crop, 4th in turkeys raised, and 3rd in total eggs produced. Indiana was not among the top 10 producing states for other crops and livestock.
Indiana farmers received $17.1 billion in cash receipts from marketings in 2023, down 7% from 2022. Marketed crops totaled $11.2 billion (65.7%), while livestock receipts came in at $5.9 billion (34.3%).
Agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use, and wear daily, and is increasingly contributing to fuel and other bio-products.
Some of the above information was sourced from https://www.agday.org/. The USDA Economic Research Service is at https://www.ers.usda.gov/. Indiana Agricultural production statistics were from the 2023-2024 bulletin at https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Indiana/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/index.php.