March 22 celebrates National Ag Day, a time when citizens nationwide are encouraged to pay tribute to agriculture and the value of farming in their communities.
In the March/April 2022 issue, we have highlighted generational farm families who shine as environmental stewards and take great care to grow and harvest the fresh fruits and vegetables that arrive at your local grocery store or farmers market.
As you read the stories about these farm families, I ask that you think about what our state would look like without the rural landscapes and recreational lands that Florida farmers and ranchers provide.
In March, my family’s 100-year homestead will be recognized as a Century Pioneer Family Farm by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Pioneer Farm program honors farm families statewide for their original stewardship of the land and for preserving our state’s natural resources and securing agriculture as our state’s second-largest driver of our economy.
This recognition is a tribute to my great great- grandfather’s legacy, to heritage and to careful stewardship of the land that will provide beauty and food for future generations.
But to me, this recognition is rooted even deeper. It is a tribute to agriculture’s resilience. It is about generational farm families overcoming myriad challenges over the past 100 years to keep their family farms going through the Depression, recessions, diseases, freezes, regulations, urbanization and labor shortages.
This resilience is a sign of determination and a reminder of how important it is to advocate alongside these farm families for the rural way of life.
I have wanted to be a farmer since I was a boy, shadowing my granddaddy and dad in the potato fields. I am so grateful to share this lifestyle with my children. Our farming heritage has shaped us into who we are today. It is what inspired me to be the voice for farmers and ranchers for our organization.
While farming has certainly changed over the past 100 years, one thing that has not changed is the commitment of farmers and ranchers to care for the land and grow fresh and wholesome food for families nationwide.
Our state is home to more than 47,000 farm families. My hope is these families will be able to overcome the challenges that will face them today and tomorrow. My hope is they will be able to work together on the land for many generations, continue to preserve the green spaces within their communities, diversify and continue to be essential to the economic livelihood of our rural communities, our state and our nation.
My hope is all citizens recognize that preserving our state’s rich agricultural heritage has enormous benefits to them and to their progeny. Agriculture is a tribute to the past, profitable to the present and imperative to our future.
See more: Deeply Rooted in Florida Ag, Singleton & Sons Farms Continues to Prosper
