I engaged in the official Ag Day celebrations in the nation’s Capital this month and even took home a copy of USDA Secretary Vilsack’s National Agriculture Day Proclamation with excerpts such as “….whereas American agriculture builds on centuries of progress by constantly seeking advances in science, research, technology, production, and marketing to meet the demands of changing consumer needs and complex world markets; and whereas American agriculture helps feed the world…”
It was a day of celebrations and events across the country with Twitter aflutter with “what are you doing to celebrate Ag Day?” While I was fortunate to participate in the Washington, D.C. events, I found a greater appreciation of our country's agricultural history in my recent, three-day ethereal connection in Ponca State Park, Nebraska. My original retreat purpose was designed to exploit the extraordinary spring-like weather in March and become a “birder” observing a plethora of diverse migrating bird species affectionately facilitating “Marsh Madness.” I witnessed over 30 species of birds (this is a big deal to me because I’m not sure I can even identify my backyard birds let alone Great Plains migrations!). Though hardly my “Big Year,” my “big weekend” included witnessing a Great Horned Owl guarding eggs on a nest and other native birds like the American Kestrel, Northern Shoveler, Hooded Merganser, Blue AND Green Winged Teals, Northern Flicker and, of course, our patriotic emblem: Bald Eagles.
The experience was unforgettable and I now consider myself an amateur birder, but the weekend also touched me in another way. I was completely awestruck by the sweeping vistas of the mighty Missouri and all of its massive contributions to American agriculture, farming and industrialization over hundreds and even thousands of years of American history.
My favorite landscape in Ponca is the Buffalo Bluff, where Native Americans once herded stampedes of the sacred buffalo over the cliffs as an innovative solution to provide food and resources for their people. And, as pictured in one of the many sculptures in Ponca’s Towers of Time, the Plains Native Americans were some of our first agrarians and curators of our land. You can’t help but feel a connection when you stand right where they did and take in the great legacy.
As many of the stops along the Missouri behold, one cannot help but be in sheer of awe of our Lewis & Clark -- curious scientists for a curious President seeking new species, new land and new passages. In fact, the Corps of Discovery’s impact on our scientific and agriculture history cannot be overstated. Their expedition led the world to hundreds of new varieties of plants and animals, new native tribes, and an accurate mapping of passage to the Pacific Ocean. The magnitude of their undertaking to seek out new science and discoveries is breathtaking.
Indeed, I can’t think of a more fitting way to reflect on AgDay then by honoring it every day. Spend time learning about our great land and what it has to offer, reflect daily on our connection to nature and its bounty, be grateful for the agriculture contributions from farmers, ranchers, producers and more! But perhaps most importantly, like Lewis & Clark and those Plains Indians that came long before them, we must be continuously curious in our pursuit of new science, new discoveries, new technological advances, and be innovative in our methods to feed ourselves and the world.
It was a day of celebrations and events across the country with Twitter aflutter with “what are you doing to celebrate Ag Day?” While I was fortunate to participate in the Washington, D.C. events, I found a greater appreciation of our country's agricultural history in my recent, three-day ethereal connection in Ponca State Park, Nebraska. My original retreat purpose was designed to exploit the extraordinary spring-like weather in March and become a “birder” observing a plethora of diverse migrating bird species affectionately facilitating “Marsh Madness.” I witnessed over 30 species of birds (this is a big deal to me because I’m not sure I can even identify my backyard birds let alone Great Plains migrations!). Though hardly my “Big Year,” my “big weekend” included witnessing a Great Horned Owl guarding eggs on a nest and other native birds like the American Kestrel, Northern Shoveler, Hooded Merganser, Blue AND Green Winged Teals, Northern Flicker and, of course, our patriotic emblem: Bald Eagles.
The experience was unforgettable and I now consider myself an amateur birder, but the weekend also touched me in another way. I was completely awestruck by the sweeping vistas of the mighty Missouri and all of its massive contributions to American agriculture, farming and industrialization over hundreds and even thousands of years of American history.
My favorite landscape in Ponca is the Buffalo Bluff, where Native Americans once herded stampedes of the sacred buffalo over the cliffs as an innovative solution to provide food and resources for their people. And, as pictured in one of the many sculptures in Ponca’s Towers of Time, the Plains Native Americans were some of our first agrarians and curators of our land. You can’t help but feel a connection when you stand right where they did and take in the great legacy.
As many of the stops along the Missouri behold, one cannot help but be in sheer of awe of our Lewis & Clark -- curious scientists for a curious President seeking new species, new land and new passages. In fact, the Corps of Discovery’s impact on our scientific and agriculture history cannot be overstated. Their expedition led the world to hundreds of new varieties of plants and animals, new native tribes, and an accurate mapping of passage to the Pacific Ocean. The magnitude of their undertaking to seek out new science and discoveries is breathtaking.
Indeed, I can’t think of a more fitting way to reflect on AgDay then by honoring it every day. Spend time learning about our great land and what it has to offer, reflect daily on our connection to nature and its bounty, be grateful for the agriculture contributions from farmers, ranchers, producers and more! But perhaps most importantly, like Lewis & Clark and those Plains Indians that came long before them, we must be continuously curious in our pursuit of new science, new discoveries, new technological advances, and be innovative in our methods to feed ourselves and the world.
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