The staff at the Elk River USDA/Farm Service Agency office welcomed area agricultural operators and area residents this week with coffee, cookies and volumes of information as they joined the national celebration of agriculture.  While “Ag Day” is formally celebrated on March 18, offices around the country note the event with a full week of activities, according to FSA program technician Jean Johnson.

 

One of those activities was a ten question “agriculture quiz” read out by USDA staffer Angie Roering, which included some startling answers, such as: Only one per cent of the U.S. population identifies itself as full time farmers; the average age of a full time operator is 58; Ag sales in 2012 were $394 billion, and that, by the year 2050, the need for food world-wide will have increased by 100 per cent over what it is today.  Also on hand were staff members Jennifer Achman, Debbie Dehmer and USDA County Director Kevin Hidde.

 

USDA staff and visiting Ag operator Wayne Lee of Anoka did well on the questions, unlike the hapless visiting reporter.

 

On a positive note, the answers revealed that the Future Farmers of America (FFA) currently has 610,240 members in 765 chapters around the nation, the largest such youth organization in the U.S.A. at the present time.

 

Johnson said the office had been experiencing a steady number of visitors all week who were ready for some coffee, cookies and a chat about the current state of the farming business.