U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack signed a proclamation making March 8, 2012, National Agriculture Day. Here’s an excerpt of the proclamation which you can read in its entirety here (pdf).
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
Washington, D.C. 20250
NATIONAL AGRICULTURE DAY
March 8, 2012
By the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States of America
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS the Nation recognizes the outstanding contributions of the men and women of agriculture; and
WHEREAS the United States Department of Agriculture seeks to promote an understanding of America’s agricultural industry; and
WHEREAS American agriculture helps feed the world, fuels our Nation’s economy, and
is the largest positive contributor to our Nation’s net trade balance; and
WHEREAS agriculture provides jobs throughout the farm and food industry, including employment for farmers, farm workers, scientists, processors, shippers, and
retailers; and
2012 National Agriculture Day Activities Photo Album
Speaking of very impressive young people making an impact at National Ag Day activities let’s hear from Iowa State University student, TJ Masker. Why? Because he told me that his iPod Touch has the 
The National FFA isn’t the only agricultural youth education organization involved with Ag Day. I visited with several more this week starting with Jessica England, President (left) and Lauren Greaves, First Vice President, 
One of the sponsors of Ag Day is 
The General Counsel for the 
During National Ag Day activities I visited with some big time supporters who are urging other companies and organizations to get involved. I’m going to share their thoughts with you here starting with Barry Nelson, 
Also serving on the board of the Agriculture Council of America is Kent Schescke, National FFA. He says that FFA has been involved for years as a sponsor and by having students participate as student advocates. They spent Monday at the 4H Center getting some preparation for visiting with legislators to talk about agriculture. He says that building good leadership skills goes hand in hand with good advocacy skills.
The newest member of the board of the Agriculture Council of America is Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (pictured on the right). Colin says there are two things that really prompted NCBA to become involved as a sponsor of Ag Day. One is the ability to use Ag Day as a mechanism to reconnect with the American consumer. The second thing is getting young people involved and Ag Day spends a lot of time getting that done. He says that these things are extremely important. Like Barry and Kent, he encourages more companies and organizations to get involved.
The 
During the National Ag Day banquet I met one of our sponsors for Ag Day coverage, Andy Lavigne, 
The winners of the 
The Chairman of the