Members of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) Women’s Leadership Committee (WLC) will participate in a D.C. Fly-In during National Agriculture Week March 18-24.  The Fly-In has been coordinated so WLC members could celebrate Ag Day March 20 as well as attend advocacy and leadership training, and conduct visits to the Congressional offices. Women of all ages have been encouraged to take part in the fly-in, in hopes the event will spark interest in political involvement. 

Montana WLC Committee Chair Gretchen Schubert, a rancher from Huntley, will attend along with Carla Lawrence, a cattle rancher from Bridger and Dr. Beth Blevins, a Ronan veterinarian. Lillian Ostendorf, who serves as the western region representative on the AFBF WLC Committee, will also be present.

Also, in celebration of Ag Week, members of the MFBF Promotion and Education Committee will be generating social media posts highlighting delicious home-cooked meals made with Montana agricultural products. Watch for them on Facebook starting with MFBF’s Facebook page for meal-time inspiration, www.facebook.com/montanafarmbureau/.

Ag Week was created to educate the public on the productivity of farmers and ranchers in the U.S. Some interesting Ag Day Facts:

  • One U.S. farm feeds 165 people annually in the U.S. and abroad, a sharp increase from previous decades.
  • Farm and ranch families make up less than 2 percent of the U.S. population.
  • 99 percent of U.S. farms are operated by families – individuals, family partnerships or family corporations.
  • Farmers and ranchers receive only 16 cents of every dollar spent on food at home and away from home. The rest goes for costs beyond the farm gate: wages and materials for production, processing, marketing, transportation and distribution. In 1980, farmers and ranchers received 31 cents.
  • About 8 percent of U.S. farms market foods locally, through direct-to-consumer or intermediated sales.
  • The millennial generation (people aged 34 and under) includes 257,454 farmers.
  • More than 20 percent of all farmers are beginning farmers (in business less than 10 years). 

Visit AFBF’s Fast Facts About Agriculture page, www.fb.org/newsroom/fast-facts, for additional ag information.