[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4784]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL AGRICULTURE DAY

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House 
Agriculture Committee, I rise in support of the goals of National 
Agriculture Day, which is today, March 25.
  Agriculture remains the number one industry in the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, supporting upwards of 63,000 family farms, generating 
more than $67 billion in economic impact, and one in seven residents of 
Pennsylvania works in the agriculture sector.
  While a good portion of America's population does not see firsthand 
where our food supply comes from, a wise man once told me that we shake 
hands with a farmer at least three times a day. This saying truly 
illustrates the importance of supporting agriculture, but equally the 
importance of supporting the future of agriculture and our future food 
security.
  I had the pleasure of meeting with two officers of the Pennsylvania 
chapter of the Future Farmers of America earlier this morning. I 
commend them for their outreach efforts here in Washington to promote 
the goals of National Agriculture Day. Their advocacy in engaging the 
next generation to become farmers is crucial to ensuring our country 
has the most affordable, the highest quality, abundant, and safest food 
supply in the world.

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