Our Opinion: Bright future for state's top industry

Missouri's observance of National Agriculture Week is a celebration of both the state's No. 1 industry and its bright future.

Agriculture is a $10.9 billion industry in Missouri, which is home to nearly 100,00 farms and 300,000 residents employed in agriculture-related occupations.

Its vibrant future is reflected by the nearly 30,000 FFA members representing more than 300 chapters statewide. In addition, 4H programs in Missouri provide a wide range of youth activities and projects, including agriculture and related fields involving science and nature.

Those young people included elementary students from Jefferson City's East School and New Bloomfield who visited Fischer Farms earlier this week to learn about agriculture.

"Agriculture impacts the lives of Missourians on a daily basis," said Richard Fordyce, director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture. "The food we eat, the clothes we wear and the fuel we pump at the gas station all come from farmers. National Agriculture Week gives us the opportunity to highlight our important work."

He added the event at Fischer Farms "allowed us to educate young people who may not have spent much, if any, time on a farm about what farmers do on a daily basis."

What farmers do on a daily basis ranks Missouri among the top 10 states in a diverse array of agricultural goods and commodities, including corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, cattle, chickens, hogs and turkeys. Over the past five years, Missouri agricultural exports, shipped to more than 150 countries, have increased by more than a billion dollars.

Those are impressive numbers.

Equally impressive are the values being instilled in young people through participation in FFA and 4H programs.

The Missouri FFA website characterizes its members as future biologists, chemists, veterinarians, engineers and entrepreneurs.

And the website for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education describes FFA as an organization "dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of young people by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education."

The FFA motto is: Learning to Do; Doing to Learn; Earning to Live; Living to Serve.

That's a plan of action that assures future farmers will remain committed to serving fellow Missourians through learning, labor and productivity.