Agriculture is Everywhere

For Fall Break, I went to Evanston, Illinois to visit some of my family. Evanston is a suburb just north of Chicago, so I was expecting to see a lot of gray concrete. Once I arrived, that was exactly what I was greeted with, tall buildings, busy streets, and stores on every corner. The only signs of life were obviously the people going to and from work and school, the occasional tree beautifying the side of the street, and the neighborhood park. That is until one morning, my family took my mom and I to the farmer’s market that they are weekly patrons of. 

Because I live in the middle of the country, I have never experienced a farmer’s market before this day. I know crazy, right? Our walk to the market consisted of crossing streets and walking through a parking garage. The parking garage truly caught me off guard, but after we exited I was instantly met with a rainbow; orange, red, green, yellow, and blue made their appearance against the gray concrete that was surrounding the market. Farmer’s from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan brought the product of their toil straight to the members of this community. This puts into perspective that agriculture is everywhere. The farmer’s market was one of the most “happening” places I have ever seen. Seeing consumers interacting with producers directly was so rewarding.

I believe that the consumers at the market being able to build a connection with the producers at the market eased some of the trust issues that many people have with the food industry. Seeing this in a concrete jungle of all places showed how easy it can be to establish trust between producers and consumers. 

Obviously, all agricultural products cannot be sold straight from the farm to the hands of the consumer, but we can ensure agriculture’s story is being told. From daily conversations to social media to blogs, each of us have a role to play in the telling of our industry’s story. Agriculture reaches from coast to coast and from continent to continent, it truly is everywhere. Ensuring the future of agriculture is something that FFA members across the country unite around, but it doesn’t have to stop with members. Agriculturalists of all ages from all backgrounds can unify to have a strong presence and an enormous voice.

Share your story, 

Carson Rudd, State Reporter