National/Idaho Ag day observed

Boise--At the Idaho Statehouse, a stunning display for National Ag Day.

A table set for 165 people, That's the number of people an Idaho farmer can feed in just a year and Idaho has more than 12,400 farms! Chanel Tewalt of the Idaho Department of Agriculture says that's a lot of food. "If we had to eat everything we produced in this state, We would have a tremendous amount of food to eat, every single day, including 43 potatoes, several loaves of bread, two pounds of cheese and a lot more," she said.

Simply put Idaho farmers are the best in the world, Yet few people know how good, how much farmers produce and the economic impact of what they do. National Ag Day is set aside to help educate the world, Idaho governor Brad Little looked thoughtfully at the 165 place settings.

"We do very well in Idaho," said Governor Little. "We're going to have to continue to innovate and add value to those commodities. Ag is such a big driver in Idaho. If we look at the banks here in town and the insurance companies, they bank and insure a lot of farmers. Food processors and the fertilizers companies are heavily dependent on farmers in Idaho, you add it all up and its critical mass."

This will mark the 46th anniversary of National Ag Day, celebrated in classrooms and communities nationwide. Idaho ranks among the most productive in the nation for dairy, potatoes, wheat, sugar beets, hay, and many more crops. Idaho Agriculture, this is your day!