When we speak on behalf of agriculture, we need not forget that we speak for all of agriculture. I had the great privilege of joining Texas Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers last weekend on their annual fall farm tours in beautiful Fredericksburg, Texas, just outside of San Antonio.

Much like the state I hail from, Florida, Texas is rich with diverse sectors of agriculture. The three-day visit was jam packed with tours to a number of cattle ranches, peach orchids, wineries, and wildflower farms, just to name a few. Being a vegetable producer myself, all of these locations was an opportunity for me to learn more about the industry I work in and to realize how little I know about the sectors of agriculture that I don’t work in.

I feel as though too many times when we look at agriculture we only see the sectors of ag that we as individuals are associated with and fail to reach out to others; for example, as the vegetable farmer to the fruit grower to the cattleman to the swine producer to the large commodity grower so forth and so on. We are all agriculture and we should all be supporting oneanother.

I assure you that the HSUS's and PETA's of the world have united with the Environmental Working Group and Physicians for Responsible Medicine groups of the world to ensure their objectives are met no matter at whose expense...unfortunately, many times it's agriculture's.

Farm Bureau is the largest general agricultural organization in the nation. We have vast amounts of knowledge amongst our members concerning so many different commodities that I think it would be a shame not to educate oneanother on our respective sectors of ag. I say this because I have gotten into many a discussion with folks about ag issues other than vegetables, land rights, water rights, and conventional versus organic, all major issues pertaining to growing fruits and vegetables in Florida, that I can honestly say that I am not as versed in swine production or milk production or maple syrup production or catfish production, for example, as I should be in order to be the best advocate I can be for agriculture.

I believe just as important as educating the general public about ag, we need to educate ourselves as well. Even though I grow vegetables I still need to be able to speak intelligently and effectively about other sectors of Ag in order to accurately educate the general public.

I am not asking anyone to become an expert for all sectors of agriculture by any means, but I do challenge you to become familiar with the issues, other than your own, that affects the commodities in your area. This way when you find yourself in a conversation with someone who is interested in this great industry we work in you will be the able to speak confidently and factually about the subjects that arise.

We should feel proud that we are the 1% of the American population that puts food on the tables across this and many other nations. If we fail to educate others when given the opportunity because we have failed to educate ourselves, the misinformed media will most likely do the educating for us...and this is a cost none of us can afford to pay.