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Jaymon Gray

Mrs. Jackie Burr, Instructor

English 2010

19 February 2020

Open Letter to All Consumers

What did you eat today or yesterday? Everyday you need to eat something and most people

have the chance to each and every day. All of this is thanks to farmers and ranchers throughout

the world who produce all of the food that you eat. There are 2.1 million farms and ranches in

the United States overall there are 50 million ranches or farms in the world. Of these 2.1 million

farms in the United States, they control 40 percent of the world's food industry in the. Over 95%

of these farms are multi

generational and have been

growing and adapting with

the climate, laws, and new

technology that has come

about. Some of these multi

generational farms are in a

constant struggle to find the

newest and best advanced

technology to grow the finest crops and best merchandise. Since the early 1900’s farmers have

been advancing technology to grow more food on a smaller plot of land. The technology increase

over the last one hundred years has been insane and farmers are doing everything to advance that

even more. Most of the time these people experience some major expenses such as equipment,

land, employees, and possibly livestock. All of these things that they have to use almost every
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day cost upwards of five million dollars or more just for expenses. On the flip side farmers make

on average in gross profit around five hundred thousand dollars a year. This is a very risky thing

for people to do because starting a farm has so many disadvantages as a start up costs that go

with running a ranch or farm.

My family has been a multi generational livestock ranch and farm. For over one hundred

years my family has ranched and farmed the land. The land that my great grandfather grew his

livestock and crops on is the same land that my family is growing their livestock and crops on

and it's twice to three times as good.

Even though there are struggles and

downfalls there is an even greater

return in what you get out of ranching

and farming. On my family's ranch

they have about four million dollars in

equipment, another five million

dollars in private property and leased

property, and another two million dollars in livestock and farming. All of this equates to about

11 million dollars in long term expenses not taking into account the wear and tear on equipment

and livestock. All of these things are not good, especially taking into account that a rancher or

farmer only makes upwards of five hundred thousand a year. I have worked on this ranch and

farm my whole life and it is one of the best life and work experiences in the world, but it is the

most demanding and hard thing you will ever do. I have also recognized all of the small things

that you have to do to keep a farm running and operating properly. All of this in the short term is

very bad and does not work and will never work for a job or career, but for the long term it

works. If you look at some of the biggest farms in the world and how long they have been

around, there is
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a direct correlation of how they operate and how they stay out of the negative or (red) and stay in

the positive (black) where they make money.

Imagine waking up every day and having to go scavenge for food because it isn't available

in a store or at a market. What would you have to do? You would go look for food or you would

plant crops in the summer months so you could eat in the winter and hopefully not starve to

death. Without this much needed agriculture you would have to go find food everyday. Ancient

peoples had to save food in long term storage so they could have food for the winter. When you

go to the grocery store do you ever think of how long it took for fruit or vegetables and many

other things to grow. Then finally being put on the shelf for you to pick up and buy. On average

from the time the animal dies or plant is harvested to the time it is put on the shelf at a store takes

upwards of two to three weeks. Not taking into account all of the time that it took for the produce

or animal to grow and develop. Many times throughout our lives we rush to the grocery store for

something that we need at the moment, when in reality that thing most likely took a couple

months or even years to grow and develop for our consumption and use.

Without these farmers an extraordinary amount more people would go hungry every day

because of the inflating prices around the United States and even the whole world. On average a

10 hectare farm would feed 120 people for a year in 2020. A hundred years ago in 1920 on the

same 10 hectares it would only feed 12 people for a whole year. If the farming industry grows as

planned in the next 20 years there could be only a small amount or no hungry person. This is

amazing because a hundred years ago this goal would have been non-existent.

Some of the major problems hitting these farmers in recent years have been the loss of land

that is used for farming and agriculture. Due to the growing population throughout the world and

the development of land it has made prices for land extraordinarily expensive. These rising
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prices make it very hard for farmers and

ranchers to expand their industry because

they do not want to take out another loan

on some property that might come in handy

in the future.

This graph to the right is all of the major

crops that are produced in the United States

and how much each crop makes

specifically in 2011. This is very important because then you can project what some crops will

be worth in the future. I love the image that says “If you ate today thank a farmer” without a

farmer you would have to become the farmer for your own survival. Without these amazing

people there would not be as many stores and people around the world. Eat and thank a farmer.

Works Cited

“Importance of Agriculture Informative Speech Essay” ​https://www.bartleby.com/essay

/Importance-of-Agriculture-Informative-Speech-FKCYKR4KTC​Mar 7, 2012

Iowa State University, “What is Value-added Agriculture?” ​https://www.agmrc.org/business-

development/getting-prepared/valueadded-agriculture/what-is-value-added-agriculture

January 2020
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Jackson, Mark “A personal story about farming and the future of agriculture” ​https://www.youtube

.com/watch?v=V4kaBoe-yyQ​ 20 November 2014

“The Importance of Agriculture to the United States.” ​U.S. Department of State Dispatch​, vol. 9,

no. 8, Sept.

1998, p. 11. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=1233175&site=ehost-live.