INDIANAPOLIS – National Ag Day is an opportunity to celebrate farmers and farming, but it’s also a chance to engage the non-farm public in discussions about food, technology innovations and the diversity of the industry, according to officials with the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) and AgriNovus Indiana.

This year’s National Ag Day is March 22. The event was started by the Agriculture Council of America in 1973.

“When you’re embedded in an industry as deeply as all of us are, you want to make sure that the people that you know, that you’re around every day, that you see doing what they do, you want to see them celebrated and I think that’s what National Ag Day does for all of us,” explained Bruce Kettler, ISDA director. He also hopes the public takes the time to appreciate that farmers provide our food, clothes and fuel.

It’s important as well for farmers to take the opportunity to educate the public about the industry, Kettler noted. The day “allows farmers maybe to stop and take time to appreciate their work and the dedication they have to their craft. But also understand there are a lot of people that don’t understand modern agriculture in particular and maybe to stop and think how they, in their own communities, with their neighbors and people close to them, how they can continue to share that.

“I would challenge farmers to think more about how they (educate the public) as well. It’s always best to come right from the source and maybe this is an opportunity for them to stop and say, OK, I’m going to participate in this in a different way.”

National Ag Day also allows for the opportunity to highlight the innovations happening across the agbioscience economy in the state, said Mitch Frazier, president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana.

“It’s everything from food to ag tech to new approaches to crop protection and plant science to animal health,” he stated. “This is a broad, diverse industry and Ag Day really gives us an opportunity as a community, as an economy, to come together to celebrate those things and to inspire and educate those who may not know about the economy, one, or two, the potential for careers and growth in this sector.”

There are opportunities for young people or those seeking a mid-career transition to be a part of this economy, he pointed out. Careers can be found for those interested in software development, finances, biology and chemistry, Frazier said.

Agbioscience is a $52 billion economy in Indiana, he said. Two publicly held companies – Corteva Agriscience and Elanco Animal Health – have announced they would make Indianapolis their headquarters. “There’s a tremendous opportunity with those two, to accelerate even more innovation across the broad agbioscience economy than I believe we’ve ever had in history,” Frazier stated.

Indiana’s diverse agbioscience economy draws new companies to the state, he noted. That diversity creates tremendous opportunity, Frazier added. The state’s production agriculture is incredibly strong, as is the connection to animal health, food systems, crop production and plant science, he said.

Proximity to the customers the companies hope to serve is also important when businesses consider relocation, Kettler said. During trade missions to other countries, he said various foreign company officials have told him they know they need to come to the United States if they want a market big and broad enough to make their technology profitable.

Indiana is the 10th largest agriculture state in the country, he noted. The state is ranked in the top five in several areas, including some crops, livestock and hardwoods.

“I think that’s our climate, our soils,” Kettler said. “But I would argue that a lot of it comes from our people and what they’re able to do. That work ethic, that wanting to get better all the time is why we’re really strong there.”

The state’s academic institutions, including Purdue University, Indiana University, Notre Dame and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, are also draws for ag companies, Frazier said.

He said agbioscience has five key areas: value-added food and nutrition, animal health and nutrition, plant sciences and crop production, ag tech and production agriculture. Ag tech is the fastest growing sector and the largest by revenue is value-added food, he added.

The AgriNovus board has a goal of adding $4 billion to the agbioscience economy by 2024, Frazier said.

In addition to attracting new companies, it’s also important to keep the ones already in the state, Kettler said. To that end, ISDA, along with the Indiana Small Business Development Center, Purdue Center for Regional Development and Purdue Extension, recently announced the Agribusiness Initiative. The program offers ag-related small businesses and entrepreneurs access to no-cost, confidential specialty business advising and training, including financing, crop yield projections and commodity exporting, according to a press release.

“The objective (with the Initiative) is probably more to keep and grow,” Kettler said. “Let’s try to help those who are either already here or somebody looking to grow or expand. Maybe that expansion is exports, for example, which is not an easy thing. It’s complex, it’s complicated. The ideas is you tell us what you think you need or tell us where you want to go, what your objectives are, and then we can help make sure we steer you to the right resources. It might be one of those four, it might be all four.”

AgriNovus Indiana has created a website for young people interested in learning more about the breadth of opportunities in agriculture, Frazier said. The career exploration platform may be found at www.myfieldatlas.com.

For more information on National Ag Day, visit www.agday.org.