PRESIDENTIALLY SPEAKING Knowing we are prepared as we sail into the unknown By Rodd Moesel President, Oklahoma Farm Bureau & Affiliated Companies
n agriculture, we are used to setting sail into the unknown. We plant seeds that will be impacted by unknown weather. We raise animals even though we do not know how much they will bring by the time they are ready for market. We watch agricultural products leave our farm and ranch gates, unsure how they will benefit the people we have in mind as we provide food, fiber and fuel for our neighbors around the world. 2020 has served as a reminder that there is even more unknown than we ever knew. And even as I write this, I am uncertain about the conditions under which these words will be read. The COVID-19 outbreak and ensuing concern, apprehension and questioning have sent our entire world into a time of global uncertainty that is unprecedented. Our daily routines have been upended. From working remotely to hoping our favorite goods are on grocery store shelves as we shop, the consumers for whom we produce food are waking up to a new reality each day. With this new level of concern and care about a way of life that once seemed certain and unshakable comes a renewed interest by consumers in our food and fiber system. Many people are learning for the first time in their lives what it is like to go to a grocery store devoid of the bread, meat or dairy products they are used to grabbing off the shelf with hardly a second thought. As an agriculture community, this opens the door for us to connect with consumers and demonstrate the steady hand of farmers and ranchers upon our food value chain. We have the first-hand knowledge and the certainty that consumers desire: that there will be food on grocery store shelves because American agriculture is always ready to feed a hungry world. Speaking as one voice to share the farm and ranch story is one of the key reasons why I am a Farm Bureau member. Our members join together as part of a larger body that shares our agricultural achievements, opportunities and concerns with consumers. And this is a prime time for just that.
I encourage every Farm Bureau member to share the great things agriculture accomplishes during this time when consumers are curious about the food and fiber system. We can tell the great news that each American farmer grows enough food to feed 166 people each year. We can share that through dedicated animal care, our Oklahoma poultry producers can raise a chicken that grows to market weight in eight weeks, allowing us to meet increased demands of consumers in times of need. And we can inform the public that we are always working to raise food, but we must make a profit if we are going to continue to feed our communities, our country and our world. Agriculture has a job that never — Rodd Moesel takes a vacation: we feed the world. Simple facts like these can provide calm, steady reassurance that American agriculture continues to be productive, efficient, safe and steady to help our world grow, even when we face a global pandemic. I have no idea what will change between when I write this and when you might read it, but we can all take pride in – and find security in – the fact that our food and fiber system is continually growing, improving and meeting the needs of a growing world. And that’s a good thing to know.
Agriculture has a job that never takes a vacation: we feed the world.
6 — Oklahoma Country