Today is the first day of spring and the traditional celebration of National Agriculture Day.

This is the 35th anniversary of National Ag Day and this year, the Ag Council of America unveiled the new “Food/Fiber/Biofuel Chain” poster. The poster shows all of the industries involved in the production, processing, and distribution of feeding, clothing and fueling the American consumer. In total, 21 million people in the U.S. are now employed to support the 301 million consumers in the country.

It’s interesting to note that one farmer now supplies food for about 144 people in the United States and abroad compared with just 25.8 people in 1960. In addition, that farmer is now able to supply some of our fuel needs in the form of ethanol and biodiesel – while still feeding the world.

Advancements in crop technology, equipment technology and information management, coupled with the old-fashioned ingenuity of American farmers, have made this possible and will continue meet the challenge of working to feed, clothe and fuel a growing world population.