For most of us, the food we eat relies on the efforts of others. Today, on National Ag Day, we recognize those efforts. The Days of the Year staff writes, “National Agriculture Day is a special moment set aside to recognize the importance of agriculture in our daily lives. This event shines a spotlight on the farmers, ranchers, and all the workers involved in producing the food, clothing, and even the biofuels we rely on every day. It’s easy to overlook how essential agriculture is, but this day reminds us of the incredible effort it takes to keep our communities fed and our economies thriving. Agriculture touches many parts of modern life, including textiles and renewable energy.” The staff at the Granville County Center Extension of North Carolina State University adds, “On National Agriculture Day, we celebrate generations of American farmers, farmworkers, fishers, ranchers, foresters, and all those who work around the clock to put food on our tables and steward our Nation’s lands. They represent the best of America — pride in community, love of family, and work ethic and strength that power our economy and help feed the world.”
Started in 1973, National Ag Day is sponsored by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA). The day is dedicated to increasing public awareness of agriculture’s vital role in society — a role one would think the public would be well aware of. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Together We Grow.” Jenny Pickett, ACA President, notes, “From the food we eat and the fuel for our vehicles, to the fiber in the clothes we wear, and the oil used to make kids’ crayons, agriculture touches everyone in some way.”[1] Although working in the agricultural sector has always been challenging, these are particularly unsettling times. As I write, the agricultural sector is dealing the outbreak of bird flu, geo-political conflicts, a barrage of tariffs, rising costs, a fluctuating workforce, the potential loss of federal markets associated with food aid, and, of course, climate change.
Facing all of those challenges, in addition to the routine complexities of the global food supply chain, means that stakeholders in the agricultural sector must focus on resiliency. Food journalist George Hajjar reports, “Operators today are looking for unique solutions to build resilience. … [Earlier this year a Gartner Survey found] 73% of businesses have made changes to their supply chain network in the past two years with 46% citing an increase in resilience or redundancy as a motivator for optimization.”[2] While many of the challenges faced by the agricultural sector are short- to mid-term concerns, the greatest long-term concern is climate change. Science writer Sanjana Gajbhiye reports, “Without rapid changes to how we develop climate-resilient crops, we could face widespread food shortages, famine, mass migration, and global instability.”[3]
Silvia Restrepo, President of the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) and co-author of a paper on plant science, observes, “We’re in a race against time. The crops we depend on for food are increasingly struggling to survive extreme weather, from heat waves to droughts and floods. Meanwhile, our current approaches to developing tougher, more resilient crops simply aren’t moving fast enough.”[4] The BTI staff adds, “The problem is complex: Not only are crops battling higher temperatures, but they’re also facing more frequent pest outbreaks and diseases. Even when plants survive these challenges, climate change can reduce their nutritional value. Adding to the urgency, agriculture itself contributes to about 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions, creating a vicious cycle.”
The negative effects of climate change on the agricultural sector will have significant impacts on consumers. Supply chain journalist Nick Bowman explains, “As climate change has intensified, extreme weather events, shifting temperatures and unpredictable rainfall have disrupted global food supply chains, threatening the stability of everything from staple crops to the cans on supermarket shelves. In the years to come, the effects of climate change on the price and availability for a variety of foods are going to be substantial, says food scientist Dr. Bryan Quoc Le.”[5] Le told Bowman, “It’s going to be more difficult to grow anything. … As weather patterns become more erratic, harvests will continue to dwindle or experience unpredictable supply over the coming years.” That’s why ACA’s Picket observes, “The industry needs scientists, biologists, food safety technicians, livestock nutrition specialists, arborists, conservationists — one doesn’t have to be a farmer or have a direct on-farm job to be involved in the agriculture industry.”
Farmers and ranchers have been serious weather-watchers for millennia. It’s time that all stakeholders in the food sector do the same. Meteorologist Renny Vandewege, General Manager for supply chain weather data company DTN, told Bowman, “I would encourage businesses that aren’t thinking about climate change and its impacts to start thinking now. … Looking ahead at what these new risks are allows us to prepare, and start to look at ways to mitigate.” Joe Adamski, a senior director at ProcureAbility, told Bowman that “agricultural supply chains as a whole are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, given that just 15 crops provide 90% of the non-animal-based calories consumed by the world. … That creates a ‘huge risk exposure’ for the world’s supply of crops, especially with the global population expected to approach 10 billion people by 2050.”
Adamski made one other critical point: “Making sure we can feed that population ‘isn’t negotiable.’ … Finding ways to increase, or at least maintain, crop yields while addressing the climate impacts agriculture brings will be essential to navigating our food needs over the next century.” National Ag Day is an ideal way to recognize and appreciate the hundreds of thousands of individuals who play a role in putting food on our tables and who are working hard to ensure that the food supply chain remains secure for those who follow after us.
Footnotes
[1] Jennifer Pickett, “National Ag Day Set for March 18, 2025,” Ag Day Blog, 19 November 2024.
[2] George Hajjar, “Inspiring Supply Chain Resilience: A Farm-to-Fork Approach,” The Food Institute, 27 January 2025.
[3] Sanjana Gajbhiye, “We are in a race against time to save our food supply from climate change,” Earth.com, 6 December 2024.
[4] Boyce Thompson Institute, “Climate change threatens global food supply: Scientists call for urgent action,” Phys.Org, 5 December 2024.
[5] Nick Bowman, “Climate Change Threatens the Future of Food Supply Chains,” SupplyChainBrain, 27 February 2025.
