Have you heard of The Hand That Feeds U.S. program? This is an educational resource for urban media on the importance of U.S. agriculture to the security and future of our country. The project provides information relevant to our nation’s farming industry, while also seeking to combat the current misinformation campaigns about food prices and renewable fuels.

Columnist Jerry Lackey at GO San Angelo wrote an article, Farmers’ contribution to U.S. topic of awareness campaign, that discusses the benefits of The Hand That Feeds U.S. and how it can help politicians understand the impact regulations have on the agriculture industry and ultimately, our nation’s food supply.

In an open letter to U.S. media outlets, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., urged reporters to take the time to learn more about U.S. farm policy and the farm and ranch families that keep America fed.

Unbiased information is needed now more than ever because at no time in our history has the general population been less connected to the farm, the senators said as they endorsed newly launched educational efforts dubbed “The Hand That Feeds U.S.”

Based on the recently published U.S. Census of Agriculture, just more than 2 million people in our nation of about 300 million are classified as farmers, with far fewer still making a living off of the land and meeting the lion’s share of the food and fiber needs of our country.