This Thanksgiving Day, as we gather with family and friends to count our blessings, let’s give thanks for the bounty we enjoy not just on this holiday, but every day. The safe, plentiful food that is available to us, and the products used to produce the clothing, housing, medicines, fuel and other products we use on a daily basis didn’t just appear in a store. They got there thanks to a tremendous partnership of farmers and ranchers, processors, brokers, truckers, shippers, advertisers, wholesalers and retailers.

In appreciation of this farm-city partnership, the president of the United States annually proclaims the week leading up to and including Thanksgiving Day as National Farm-City Week.

Rural and urban residents are “Partners in Progress” who produce the products, consume the products and make them readily available through an efficient production and marketing chain. Farmers and ranchers are just the beginning of that chain. Farm workers, researchers, processors, shippers, truck drivers, inspectors, wholesalers, agribusinesses, marketers, advertisers, retailers and consumers all play important roles in the incredible productivity that has made our nation’s food and fiber system the envy of the world.

This week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, let’s remember the vital farm-city partnerships that have done so much to improve the quality of our lives. Rural and urban communities working together have made the most of our rich agricultural resources, and have made significant contributions to our health and well-being and to the strength of our nation’s economy. For this, we can give thanks.

 Alex Pirkl

president

Freeborn County Farm Bureau

Geneva