On the recordMarch 16, 2011
I rise today to highlight the importance of agriculture and celebrate National Agriculture Week. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said: Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles away from a cornfield. This week reminds us that it is our job to bridge the gap between plowing fields and crafting laws and make sure our ranchers and farmers have the tools they need. In my home State of Montana, agriculture is the heart and soul of our economy. It is an essential part of who we are. In Montana, agriculture is not simply a livelihood, it is our way of life. Growing up on a ranch outside of Helena taught me firsthand the values of hard work, faith, family, and doing what is right--values I try to bring with me to work every day. Fifty percent of Montana's economy is tied to ranching and farming, and one in five Montana jobs is tied in some way to agriculture. It is our No. 1 industry. Each year, Montana ranchers and farmers produce nearly $3 billion of the highest quality agricultural goods produced anywhere in the world. As a nation, we are blessed with a safe, affordable, and abundant food supply. Our farmers and ranchers in our country put food on the tables of families around the world, and they help create good-paying jobs here at home. Every year, the average American farmer feeds 155 people worldwide.…
