Remembering the farmer this Fourth of July
by Lon Tonneson, July 1, 2019
This article was taken directly from the KansasFarmer
“Whoever makes two ears of corn or two blades of grass grow where only one grew before … does more essential service to his country than the whole race of politicians put together.”
Jonathan Swift, an Irish author most famous for his book “Gulliver’s Travels,” wrote that about 300 years ago. It still rings true today and is worth noting during the Fourth of July holiday.
Several U.S. presidents had equally patriotic and inspiring things to say about farmers and ranchers. Click through the slideshow to see what they’ve had to say about our nation’s farmers.
"Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment of man." - President George Washington
"Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness." - President Thomas Jefferson
"No other human occupation opens so wide a field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with cultivated thought, as agriculture." - President Abraham Lincoln
"The welfare of the farmer is vital to that of the whole country. The prosperity of the country rests peculiarly upon the prosperity of agriculture." - President William Howard Taft
"Prosperous farmers mean more employment, more prosperity for the workers and the businessmen of every industrial area of the whole country." - President Franklin D. Roosevelt
"It was the farm production, and the production of oil and minerals, which made it possible for this country to win the war in as short a time as it did. The farmers are to be most highly complimented on the contribution that they made to the war effort, and the contribution that they are making to the peace effort now." - President Harry Truman
"The proper role of government...is that of partner with the farmer - never his master. By every possible means we must develop and promote that partnership - to the end that agriculture may continue to be a sound, enduring foundation for our economy and that farm living may be a profitable satisfying experience." - President Dwight Eisenhower
"Our farmers deserve praise, not condemnation, and their efficiency should be cause for gratitude, not something for which they are penalized." - President John F. Kennedy
"The miracle of American agriculture is...an example to all the world's billions of the wisdom and the rewards of our democratic system. For more than a century, that system has encouraged development of the family farm and the free and independent farmer." - President Lyndon B. Johnson
"I've always thought that when we Americans get up in the morning - when we see bacon, eggs, toast and milk on the breakfast table - we should give thanks that our farmers are survivors. You are the real miracle workers of the modern world - keepers of an incredible system based on faith, freedom, hard work, productivity and profit - a system that feeds us and sustains millions of the world's hungry." - President Ronald Reagan
"We're a blessed nation because we can grow our own food. A nation that can feeds its people is a nation more secure." - President George W. Bush
"We see the promise of tomorrow in the incredible young farmers who have joined us today - students who are achieving incredible things through amazing organizations like FFA and 4-H. That's the future of our country. Great young people. Their devotion to our nation inspires us all; it really does." - President Donald Trump
This article was taken directly from the KansasFarmer.
KP
