Agriculture is the production, processing and marketing of foods and fibers.
America's farmers and ranchers produce everyday household and business items from plant and animal products and byproducts. These include food, surgical sutures, lumber, tires, adhesives, shampoo, leather shoes and soft cotton clothes.
National Farm-City Week celebrates the "Partners in Progress" who produce the products, consume the products, and make them readily available through an efficient production and marketing chain.
Farmers and ranchers are just the beginning of that chain.
Farm workers, researchers, processors, shippers, truck drivers, inspectors, wholesalers, agribusinesses, marketers, advertisers, retailers and consumers all play important roles in the productivity that has made our nation's food and fiber system the world's envy.
Every year, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, let's remember the vital farm-city partnerships that have done so much to improve the quality of our lives.
Rural and urban communities working together have made the most of our rich agricultural resources, and have made significant contributions to our health and well-being, and to the strength of our nation's economy.
For this, we can give thanks.
This year, to celebrate National Farm-City Week, University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Okaloosa County Extension has teamed up with Okaloosa County Farm Bureau to collect and distribute fresh vegetables and foods for needy families, identified by a local church.
We will collect donations of money and peanut butter until Nov. 19. We will load all donations onto trailers and pull them down Main Street as we make our way to the Woodlawn Baptist Church parking lot in Crestview on Nov. 20.
Please help us celebrate National Farm-City Week with your donations. Donations can be accepted at these Crestview locations:
● 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, University of Florida IFAS Okaloosa County Extension office, 3098 Airport Road
●8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, Okaloosa County Farm Bureau office, 921 W. James Lee Blvd.
Call 689-5850 or email bearden@ufl.edu for more information.
Jennifer Bearden is an agent at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BEARDEN: Crestview National Farm-City Week observance scheduled Friday