[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 56 (Thursday, March 21, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20093-20094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06122]


 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 56 / Thursday, March 21, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

 ___________________________________________________________________

 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 20093]]

                Proclamation 10712 of March 18, 2024

                
National Agriculture Day, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                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.

                Over the last few decades, the failed trickle-down 
                economic policies of the past have hit rural America 
                especially hard. They have hollowed out communities, 
                essentially telling farmers that the only path forward 
                is to ``get big'' or ``get out.'' Food producers, meat 
                processors, and grocery chains have consolidated, 
                undercutting small local businesses and weakening the 
                bargaining power of the farmers and ranchers who supply 
                large corporations with goods. Meanwhile, corporations 
                that sell seeds, fertilizer, and even farm equipment 
                have used their own outsized market power to charge 
                more even as farmers sold their own goods for less. 
                Family farms have struggled, as the promise of keeping 
                a farm in the family is too often slipping out of 
                reach. When family farms go by the wayside, the small 
                businesses, hospitals, and schools that depend on them 
                suffer as well. Across rural America, thousands of 
                young people have had to leave home to find a good-
                paying job and a fair shot at the American Dream. It is 
                wrong.

                I came to office determined to change that. The 
                historic legislation I have signed is creating new 
                income and new ways for new generations of rural 
                Americans to thrive. We are investing in rural America, 
                creating new opportunities for farmers and ranchers 
                nationwide.

                The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is strengthening farm 
                supply chains by rebuilding roads, bridges, railways, 
                ports, water systems, and more. It is bringing high-
                speed internet to every household in America, 
                connecting rural communities to markets, customers, 
                jobs, health care, education, and opportunity. The 
                Inflation Reduction Act is investing nearly $20 billion 
                to help farmers and ranchers earn a living while also 
                helping to tackle the climate crisis, including 
                adopting climate-smart practices like cover crops, 
                rotational grazing, and nutrient management. It is 
                expanding renewable energy, including homegrown 
                biofuels, which is building a strong bio-economy for 
                jobs of the future. Together, these laws are helping 
                American farmers and ranchers remain strong and 
                competitive in the face of a changing climate--from 
                investing in watershed management and drought and flood 
                protection to wildland fire protection. The Department 
                of Agriculture (USDA) is providing billions of dollars 
                in assistance to farmers who have previously 
                experienced discrimination in their lending programs.

                At the same time, my Administration is working across 
                the board to promote competition and level the playing 
                field for small farmers and ranchers. For example, the 
                American Rescue Plan invested $1 billion in independent 
                meat processors to help ease conglomerates' lock on the 
                market and help small- and mid-sized companies grow. 
                The USDA also published a Packers and Stockyards Act 
                final rule, which prohibits discrimination, 
                retaliation, and certain unfair practices in livestock, 
                meat, and poultry markets. The USDA also finalized a 
                rule to increase transparency in the poultry tournament

[[Page 20094]]

                system so that growers have important information about 
                the terms of their agreements. We have also pushed to 
                cut costs for farmers by promoting farmers' ``right to 
                repair'' their own equipment, without having to send it 
                back to the manufacturer. We are working to expand 
                double cropping insurance so farmers have the financial 
                security they need to bear its risks and boost 
                production.

                We are also standing up for the farm and food workers 
                who form the backbone of our Nation's economy. It is 
                simple. Every worker in America deserves fair pay, safe 
                conditions, and the free and fair choice to join a 
                union. We promised to be the most pro-union 
                Administration in history--and we are delivering. The 
                USDA is also investing $45 million into partnerships 
                with workforce development experts to better train 
                agricultural employees. But there is still more to do, 
                like finally providing undocumented farmworkers a 
                pathway to citizenship. Our economy needs them, and 
                they deserve dignity and respect.

                It is simple: American agriculture feeds our families 
                and powers our economy. National Agriculture Day is 
                about celebrating the strength and tremendous 
                contributions of our Nation's farmers and ranchers and 
                making sure communities too long left behind have real 
                reason to feel a new sense of hope and pride.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 19, 
                2024, as National Agriculture Day. I call upon all 
                Americans to join me in recognizing and reaffirming our 
                commitment to and appreciation for our country's 
                farmers, farmworkers, ranchers, fishers, foresters, and 
                all those who work in the agricultural sector across 
                the Nation.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eighteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-06122
Filed 3-20-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P