There is perhaps nothing more quintessentially American than our great nation’s agricultural heritage. As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our independence, we should stop for a moment during our cookouts and pool parties to reflect on the farm families who have fed, fueled and helped build this country from the very beginning.
Like nearly all Americans in the late 1700s, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers were farmers. They sacrificed, worked hard, and made decisions not just for themselves, but for the generations that would follow.
In other words, they founded this nation in the spirit of agriculture: Just like you plant trees you might never sit under, they planted a legacy that we’re still realizing.
Illinois has always been at the heart of American agriculture. Abraham Lincoln created the U.S. Department of Agriculture and established the land-grant university system. The McCormick reaper — mass produced in Chicago — and John Deere’s curved steel plow revolutionized farming.
Because of the work of those before us, the United States became an agricultural powerhouse, producing the equivalent of more than 5 million pounds of crops and animal products every minute, and Illinois is one of the great agricultural states in the nation. We are a leading producer of soybeans, corn, pork, pumpkins and horseradish.
