American Agri-Women celebrates National Ag Day 2020
American Agri-Women has had to switch gears for Ag Day this year because the annual celebration to be held in Washington, D.C., was canceled. Nevertheless, members are reaching out in their communities and engaging strongly through social media to share the story of agriculture.
Ag Day, which was March 24 this year, is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture. Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies, American Agri-Women and its affiliates across America join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture. National Ag Day is hosted by the Agriculture Council of America. The awareness efforts in communities across America are equally as influential as the broad-scale effort.
Ag Day is about recognizing and celebrating the contribution of agriculture in everyday lives. This means understanding its production, the role of ag in the economy and the career opportunities in agriculture, food, fiber, and renewable resource industries. Agriculture provides almost everything people eat, use and wear on a daily basis, and is increasingly contributing to fuel and other bioproducts. As the world population soars, there is an even greater demand for the food and fiber produced in the United States.
“We take Ag Day very seriously at AAW. Each year we visit Washington, D.C., to participate in the national activities that are held, as well as visit with many other partner agencies to discuss agriculture topics important to our government,” said Lesley Schmidt, vice president of education for AAW.
Carie M. Moore, AAW vice president, said, “Many of our members visit local schools and classrooms during this week, do news and social media promoting, or even hold special events at their farms or business. Our communications team has been working diligently to share a wide variety of information over multiple platforms.”
AAW President Karolyn Zurn said, “To our organization, it is imperative that we share our knowledge of agriculture and what it means to us personally. Whether it is at our capitals, farm, schools, communities or volunteer groups, we need to connect with people. What we do today affects the next generation’s tomorrow. We must be vigilant and aware of what is happening not only locally, but globally. Ag Day is an outstanding opportunity for us to Stand Up - Speak Out for Agriculture!”
