PRESS RELEASE
From the Office of State Senator Jeff Wentworth

For Immediate Release
Nov. 16, 2000
Contact: Margaret Rambie - (210) 826-7800

Be thankful that agriculture is still a way of life for some Texas families

In spite of droughts, floods and narrowing profit margins, a small group of Texans continues to produce the crops that make Texas a leader in agricultural production and annually add about $80 billion to the state's economy.

Families celebrating Thanksgiving should pause to give thanks for the two percent of Texas' population who grow the crops and raise the animals that feed and clothe the other 98 percent. Many of these dedicated folks live on farms and ranches that their ancestors put into agricultural production more than 100 years ago.

The Texas Department of Agriculture's Family Land Heritage Program recognizes these farming and ranching families. Heritage farms and ranches are located throughout Senate District 25, including ones in Guadalupe, Kendall and Medina counties that were established in the 1840s.

If your family has been engaged in uninterrupted agricultural production for a century or more, you may inquire about the program by calling (512) 463-7653 or logging onto the program's web site at www.agr.state.tx.us/producer.

Agriculture has changed significantly since the Nelson family began farming in Williamson County and the Walker family began ranching in Bandera County. When America celebrated its first Thanksgiving, the average farmer's labors fed approximately eight people; today they feed 200. Texas farmers and ranchers have used technology to increase production. Texas leads the nation in the production of cotton, spinach, cattle, horses, sheep, goats, wool and mohair, and is the leading exporter of many agricultural commodities.

Although family farming has changed, farm families' values have not. Parents continue to prepare their youth to be positive, contributing members of society.

Since 1908 the 4-H and Youth Development Program of the Texas Agriculture Extension Service have provided programs that help today's youth become tomorrow's leaders. Currently, more than 997,000 youth between the ages of five and 19 are enrolled in Texas 4-H.

The organization's members and programs also reflect our changing society. 4-H is not for just rural kids anymore; its programs emphasize career development, healthy life styles, science and technology, leadership and life skills. More information is available on the Internet at www.texas4-h.tamu.ed or by calling your county's extension agent.

Another youth organization that now appeals to urban as well as rural youth is Texas FFA, formerly Future Farmers of America. Membership in this school- based organization, which was chartered in 1929, now stands at 60,938. FFA makes a positive difference in high school students' lives by developing their leadership potential, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

The FFA motto is "learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live and living to serve," while 4-H members strive to "make the best better." These two mottos reflect the can-do spirit of rural Texans who have made agriculture the second largest industry in Texas.

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