Proclamation 5777 -- National Agriculture Day, 1988

March 18, 1988

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

As a Nation we are blessed deeply and in many ways. The agriculture that sustains us is truly one of those blessings. We do well to give thanks for our bountiful crops. They are the yield of our fertile fields; of the skills and cooperation of countless Americans, including farmers, ranchers, scientists, farm organizations, commerce, and government; and, surely, of the liberty in which the American people are free to work, create, and produce for their mutual benefit.

Some of the world's best farmland is here in our country; roughly half of the land in the contiguous United States has a capacity for crop production. Our bounty supplies needs both at home and abroad; today, one American farmer produces enough food and fiber for 114 people. Our agricultural production, processing, and marketing provide jobs, generate wealth, and strengthen our economy, our standard of living, and our position in world trade markets. Thanks to our agricultural efficiency, American consumers, on average, spend less of their income on food than do citizens of any other nation.

As we give thanks for our rich harvests, let us be sure to express gratitude to all those in agriculture and its related endeavors who through the years have contributed so much to our Nation and the world and who continue to shape and to share the spirit and the heritage of the American people.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 265, has designated March 20, 1988, as ``National Agriculture Day'' and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 20, 1988, as National Agriculture Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twelfth.

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:22 a.m., March 21, 1988]

Note: The proclamation was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on March 19.