By Perseverance the Snail Reached the Ark

National Agriculture Week is celebrated every year in March on dates announced by the Agriculture Council of America. 

This year, the celebration runs from March 15-21 and is a nationwide effort to tell the true story of American agriculture and remind America’s citizens agriculture is a part of all of us.

The patron saint of rural communities and farmers

Honoring and praying for farmers at daily Mass, especially during the first week of spring, has been a blessed tradition. It is an appropriate time to look back at history. 

The life story of St. Isidore is an inspiration to everyone. 

St. Isidore and his wife Maria de la Cabeza lived in Madrid, Spain around 1110. He came from a poor and humble family, and from childhood, he worked as a farm hand on the estate of wealthy landowner John de Vargas. 

St. Isidore’s most distinguishing trait in life was praying and attending daily Mass. He loved the Earth, was honest in his farming practices and domestic animals and birds showed their attachment to his kindness. 

However, Isidore’s coworkers and Master de Vargas became disturbed about the amount of time he was taking from his work, so de Vargas decided to see for himself if reports which had come to him were as bad as they sounded. 

One morning he hid himself in the field where St. Isidore was supposed to be plowing. On this day, St. Isidore returned even later than usual from his morning worshipping. The other workers had already finished their jobs and had left the field, while St. Isidore’s job was still untouched. 

Master de Vargas was just about to approach St. Isidore, but something told him to wait and see what would happen. St. Isidore set to work and seemed to be making great progress, and as the employer watched, he saw the reason – two angels were working side-by-side with St. Isidore, each guiding a plow and racing in holy rivalry to see who could get the most work done.

After this, whenever anyone asked de Vargas about St. Isidore’s work, he would simply answer, “Angels are his helpers.”  

By Sacred Congressional of Rites on Feb. 22, 1947, St. Isidore was designated as the patron saint of rural communities and American farmers, and each year during National Agriculture Week, daily Mass is celebrated for American farmers.

America’s agriculture industry

Our country celebrated its first National Agriculture Day on March 21, 1973. 

The history of agriculture goes back to the birth of America. 

George Washington, the father of our nation, suggested congressing the establishment of a National Board of Agriculture in 1766, as agriculture was the stepping stone in which our young nation needed to start. 

In 1800, the average annual value of
agriculture exports was $23 million, which accounted for 75 percent of total experts.  

According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, agriculture, food and related industries contributed roughly $1.537 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product.

Agriculture is a renewable resource to feed U.S. citizens and assure security. 

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, net farm income has dropped significantly from 2022 highs, with corn and soybean farmers seeing income fall by 45 percent. Total farm debt is reaching record levels, often exceeding $560 billion, threatening the viability of many family farms.

Please keep in mind, less than 1.5 percent of America’s population is farmers.

Foreign governments support their farmers by heavily subsidizing their cost of production. They influence domestic price supports and handouts for inputs such as fertilizer, seed and equipment.

A good example of economic benefit of agriculture in America is that U.S sugar farmers have not received government payments since the expiration of the U.S. Sugar Act of 1974. 

The cost of production is the farmer’s responsibility and risk, which keeps going up. Cost of seed, fertilizer, chemicals and the high price of fuel, plus capital investment in equipment and upkeep of it is back breaking. 

Please keep American farmers in your prayers. In the past few years, low commodity prices have been jeopardizing many of our farmers’ livelihood.

I salute our beans, corn, barley, soybean, wheat, sugar, cotton, peanut and livestock ranchers. They represent love of family and love of our country. Farmers are in partnership with God, and their perseverance is admirable. 

My mother use to tell me, “By perseverance, the snail reached the Ark.”

Klodette Stroh is the sugar chairman for Women Involved in Farm Economics. She can be reached at strohfarms@tritel.net.