Monday's agriculture website - National Ag Day

National Ag Day is a day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture. Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless other across America join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture. This year's event is March 15. The Ag Day website lists event ideas and agricultural resources to celebrate Ag Day in your own community.

The event was started by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA), an organization uniquely composed of leaders in the agriculture, food and fiber communities dedicated to increasing the public awareness of agriculture's vital role in our society. The Agriculture Council of America and the National Ag Day program was started in 1973. It is a non-profit organization the helps to support and provide education to all interested in Ag Day.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: ANIMAL DISEASE TRACEABILITY

Food safety is something very important to the agriculture community. It is also something I take very seriously in working with dairy and beef farms. It is important we know how to monitor, control and eradicate disease in order to have a safe product for consumers. Recently, USDA announced that it was formulating a more flexible, national animal identification program. The animal, plant and health inspection service portion of USDA has posted an Animal Disease Traceability website. While there is not much information there now to start, I anticipate more will be added as it is discussed and decided upon. Currently, there is a frequently asked questions fact page detailing some of the things learned from trying to implement the national animal identification system and what USDA plans to do differently.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: ADVOCATES FOR AGRICULTURE

Today's agriculture website of interest to share with readers is maintained by Troy Hadrick, a beef rancher from South Dakota. His blog, "Advocates for Agriculture," chronicles his life as a fifth generation rancher while also explaining to consumers how their food is produced. Take notice, however, Troy's blog is not for the faint of heart. He doesn't pull any punches when explaining the myths surrounding agriculture and certainly takes great pride explaining the issues farming faces. You can also find his videos on You Tube on the Advocates for Ag channel.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: AG - IT'S NOT JUST A JOB, IT'S AN ADVENTURE!

Today's agriculture themed website of interest to followers is "Life on a Cattle Ranch", written by Kansas beef rancher, Debbie Lyons-Blythe. Debbie and her husband Duane Blythe are raising five teenagers and 500 head of cattle on a ranch in Kansas. Debbie posts to her blog weekly to share with people around the world what life is like in rural Kansas and how her family works every day to ensure a safe, nutritious supply of beef to consumers.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: FARMERS FEED US

Monday's agricultural website of interest is the Farmer's Feed Us website. This website aims to introduce consumers to the farmers that produce the food people eat. As this group puts it, "Farmers and ranchers work each day to produce the food you and your family enjoy. To us, farming is much more than our chosen profession. It is a commitment to providing you with safe, nutritious and affordable food, caring for our animals and our land, and giving back to our communities."