Dear Editor,
As America celebrates 250 years of independence, we should also celebrate the men and women who have made that freedom possible every single day: our farmers and ranchers.
Long before modern highways, technology, global markets, it was hard working agricultural families who transformed a new nation into one capable of feeding itself and much of the world.
As we commemorate America’s 250th birthday, we should remember that freedom depends on more than our military, our constitution, and our elections. It also depends on s secure food supply produced by people who rise before dawn, care for the land and leave it better for the next generation.
The challenges facing agriculture today are significant: burdensome regulations, labor regulations and volatile markets. Yet the resilience of rural America remains strong as ever.
Our responsibility is to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to farm and ranch just as those before us did. Protecting private property rights, encouraging local decision-making, investing in conservation, and supporting rural communities will help preserve this legacy. For 250 years, America’s farmers and ranches have fed freedom. May we continue to honor their work and ensure this proud tradition endures for centuries to come.
Bruce Tonkin, Mesa, AZ