In honor of “Thank A Farmer Week” and in recognition of National FFA Week (February 3-9), the Board of Directors of Atchison County Farm Bureau visited local schools to read books about farming to kindergarteners. Pictured above are Farm Bureau board member Afton Hannah with the Tarkio Elementary kindergarteners, teachers Jayne Martin and Kaitlyn Dunkin and Tarkio FFA members Gage McAdams and Gus Hurst. (Submitted photo)

Thank a Farmer Week was February 3-9, 2019. This is a celebration of the U.S. food supply as provided by America’s farmers and ranchers. Within the first two months of the year, the average American will have earned enough income to pay for their annual food supply.

Thank a Farmer Week is an appropriate time to thank a farmer! As a career, they have chosen to spend their livelihood providing food and fiber for our nation and abroad. With today’s successful commercial agriculture, one U.S. farmer produces enough food to feed 165 people (compared to 26 people in 1960) and is the leading producer of more than 50 foods of importance to diets throughout the world.

In honor of Thank A Farmer Week, the Atchison County Farm Bureau board members visited kindergarten classes in Rock Port, Tarkio and Fairfax to donate “How Did That Get In My Lunchbox?” by Chris Butterworth. The book takes readers from planting wheat to mixing dough, climbing trees to machine-squeezing fruit, picking cocoa pods to stirring a vat of melted bliss, in a clear, engaging look at the steps involved in producing some common foods.

Join the Atchison County Farm Bureau and our local FFA chapters in thanking our local farmers.