Family Farm Friday #3: America Needs Farmers!

Well.....I've never really cheered against Iowa football, nor particularly cheered for them. In general, they're from an ag state, which I like. They are in the Big 10, which I don't. It was all a wash.

Until I saw the decal on their helmets this week while watching the Orange Bowl. The decal simply said "ANF" and was on every helmet. Turns out, this stands for "America Needs Farmers."

(Photo courtesy of Clear Lake Schools)

In 1985, Iowa coach Hayden Fry started this tradition. The team wears the decal to draw attention to the dwindling number of American food and fiber producers. Coach Fry knew that the team would be playing in a number of nationally televised games, and he explained that the players understand the importance of agriculture in the region and the constant threat to the farming way of life. He used the opportunity to remind the nation how important agriculture iis not only to the midwest, but to the entire country. Thanks to him, all Iowa football players understand, and hopefully, so do some other football fans across America.


We must have farmers and ranchers in order to maintin our food supply and America's ability to produce enough food to sustain herself. We simply cannot rely on other countries to provide us with food, rather than growing our own. Producing our own food allows food prices to be reasonable in the US. The average American spends about 9% of income on food. Compare that to 17% for Japanese consumers. American farmers and ranchers provide us with a safe, healthy, affordable food supply. We've seen the type of issues we get into with dependance on foreign oil, can you imagine what it would be like if we were dependant on foreign food? Let's hope we never have to. Further, agriculture is a vital part of our national economy, as it contributes one TRILLION dollars to our national economy, and equals 13% of the United States' gross domestic product.

So, hats (or helmets) off to Iowa football and their ANF stickers. This is the type of thing that those of us in the industry must to.....we have to go on the offensive and start telling our stories. If lawyers wore helmets to work, I'd have one of those stickers for sure!