USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack something pretty important last week. “Everyone one of us that’s not a farmer, is not a farmer because we have farmers.” You can see a video of his comments here.
This is a great reminder regarding the importance of efficiency, technology, and progress in farming. As time goes on, farmers are able to produce more and more crops using less resources. Each farmer is able to feed more people than ever before. That allows more people to move off the farm and enter into other pursuits. These other pursuits have created our modern world and allow us to live with all the cool tech gadgets, conveniences, and amenities that the world has never seen before.
So, before you get nostalgic about old fashioned farming, or suggest that everyone should be growing their own food, consider that modern farming has freed up a lot of people to accomplish some pretty awesome things.
