It is so common for people to just think agriculture is important where agriculture can be seen – in rural areas; however, this is a false accusation that needs to be turned around. Whether people realize it or not, agriculture is a vital staple in the lives of all Americans.



WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Now, that was sort of a lie because people across the world tend to believe that agriculture is important under one circumstance – when something is wrong. Without the knowledge of what actually goes into the day-to-day life of a farmer or rancher, people tend to just believe that they are not doing good enough. With today’s population, it is no secret that the agricultural industry already struggles in trying to meet the needs and expectations of people around the world. The rapid growth of today’s society has caused industry leaders to go through even more of a strain as global command continues to increase. Due to this, the outside world has made it seem as if industry leaders are underproducing for the world and doing nothing about it. 


Let's take a look at the facts:

The World Population Data Sheet projects the population to increase from 8 billion in 2022 to 9.7 billion by 2050. This is a huge increase, especially looking at it from an agriculturist’s point of view. With this huge increase, the crop production rate will need to at least double. Not only will industry leaders need to produce more for the world, but they will have that many more people to cater to. The agricultural industry will need to outwork the speed of the population growth to provide for the world. The industry will have to transfigure more in the upcoming years than it ever has had to.


The Hush-hush part

What people do not understand is the work does not only lie within the hands of our farmers and ranchers. Even though a lot of the work does rely on production agriculture, improvements also need to be made in the communication between consumers and producers. It is not a secret that the entire world is going through a challenging time right now. Most people are seeing the challenge in buying their groceries, gas, paying their bills, mortgages, interest rates, and the list goes on. Along with this, the agricultural industry has also seen direct impacts. As agriculturists, it is our job to stand up for our industry and what we believe in, even through the hard times.


how can we help?

Communication between agriculturists and the outside world is extremely limited. This needs to change. It is necessary to make the outside world aware of the importance of agriculture in everyday life. Society has placed a negative perception on agriculture, making it hard for farmers and ranchers to seem like the good guys unless they are directly involved. Our industry has not taken a large enough stance on this issue to inform the public about our industry. The communication barrier between consumers and producers needs to be broken, or agriculturists will continue to struggle with this issue for generations to come.


Communicating agriculture to the public is a widely talked about issue and solution all in one, but it is poorly executed outside of those certain conversations. It is time for us, as agriculturists, to do something about it. The future of our industry lies within the hands of our youth. There is no doubt that the agriculture industry already strives to build up the young ones. As agriculturists, taking that a step further in building up the next generation can be a step forward in closing the gap between consumers and producers. By planting a seed within our youth to encourage them to truly advocate for the agricultural industry, they can be the next step in people around the world understanding the importance of agriculture.