Ag United and South Dakota’s True Environmentalists

Agriculture faces increasing scrutiny from people and organizations that are far-removed from the land and the sources of their food. Our food doesn’t come from a grocery store—they’re just the distributors of it.

Food comes from crops grown by hard working farming and ranching families. A lot of criticism is stemmed from lack of being accurately informed about what farmers and ranchers do and what their agricultural practices are.

If people take the time to get their information directly from reliable resources, as in the farmers and ranchers whose way of life IS agriculture every day, consumers will learn that there are many misconceptions and that taking care of their land, air, and water is crucial to survival in their livelihood. They’re dependent on quality practices. Otherwise they would be putting themselves out of their own job. One website that shares staggering statistics about the realities of what farmers are able to produce for the world is www.trueenvironmentalists.com.

It informs people about South Dakota’s true environmentalists, and what an amazing impact their job and farm practices have on the whole world. Some of the statistics the site shares on farming, I didn’t even know. My favorite fact: one acre of corn removes 8 tons of carbon dioxide from the air in a growing season. The site also interviews real South Dakota farmers about their role in the protection of and the importance of soil, water, wildlife, and air quality.

Another informative site is www.agunited.org. It shares the facts about South Dakota’s different kinds of farming. People need the truth and want the truth. These are places where they’ll find it. Agunited takes people right to the farm with videos of real farms and interviews with real farmers.

Agunited provides resources for getting on a farm tour, special farm tours for moms, other helpful and accurate agricultural links, videos of agricultural happenings, answers to commonly asked questions, and explanations of and information about groups with anti-ag agendas, which people also need to know the truth about.

Our world’s population is growing at an alarming rate (over 200,000 per day) which means that there’s an ever-growing demand for food. Today’s farmers are miraculously able to feed more people with fewer resources than in the past. I liken the ability for farmers to be able to achieve this to the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21).

This ever-increasing pressure to feed the world’s growing population is on the shoulders of farmers to produce food. It is essential that farmers protect and nurture the land in order to meet that demand. People whose livelihood is agriculture, take great care in protecting the soil, air, water, and wildlife.

Even though I know where my food comes from and live in a food-producing state and my family and I produce beef that feeds people, I still love watching videos of farms and interviews of farmers in different parts of South Dakota. Pass on to others what real environmentalists and farmers from South Dakota are doing to protect our resources and to feed people around the world.  

There are lots of references in the Bible about farming. Here’s some “food for thought” on farming: Genesis 1:29 I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat. Isaiah 58:10-11 If you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon.