Today is National Farmers Day and we have a lot to celebrate! Thanks to the roughly 3.2 million farmers in the United States, we have the most nutritious, affordable and safest food supply on the planet.  America’s farmers and ranchers are held to the highest safety standards and have created distribution efficiencies that ensure fresh and wholesome foods and beverages are available from farm to fork in record time.

Here are a few more facts about America’s farmers:

• 99 percent of farms are family-owned, and account for 89 percent of agriculture production.
• The average American farmer grows enough to feed 165 people!
• USDA’s latest Census of Agriculture found that 25% of farmers were “new and beginning” – meaning they had been operating their current farm for fewer than ten years.
• There are 969,672 women farmers in the United States – that’s nearly 1/3 of all farmers.

On your next trip to the grocery store or perhaps at tonight’s dinner, take a moment to pay tribute to those who bring the richness of a wholesome food supply to us so readily. It truly is something worth celebrating.