November 28, 2017
Nashville, Tenn. (RFD-TV)
Contributed By Brian Hefty of Ag PhD
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A “Salute to Farmers” is the theme of the Ag PhD float in the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 2018! One of the biggest challenges in agriculture in today’s society is the disconnection between those of us who produce food and the other 99% of our population. We are hoping this float and the resulting media coverage will, at least in a small way, help non-farmers learn more about what we do on the farm.
The theme for this year’s parade is “Making a Difference.” Who makes more of a difference than farmers? Without farmers and the food supply farmers produce, none of us would be here. When we met with the Tournament of Roses Committee early in 2017, we talked about how farmers are unsung heroes. Farmers work tirelessly to feed our growing world, and they do a fantastic job. In the United States, for example, we have the healthiest, most abundant, safest, and cheapest food supply in the world! While farmers don’t ask for recognition, we at Ag PhD feel they certainly deserve it.
When you ask a non-farmer what they think about agriculture, you might hear words like GMOs, BioTech, food safety, water quality, genetics, big equipment, GPS, traits, and soil. While all those things play a role in modern farming, the strength of agriculture has always been, and I expect it will always be, the people. From everything we’ve been told, there has never been a Rose Parade float with more riders than what the Ag PhD Salute to Farmers float will have, 100. Yes, 100 riders on a float is a lot, but that’s the whole point. What a better way to show that modern agriculture is still about great people than to have 100 amazing farmers from across the country? The farmers on the float have worked with us at Ag PhD over the years to help us conduct research on a large scale, so we can continue to do our job better. At Ag PhD, our goal is always to give great agronomy advice to farmers around the world, so farmers can improve yields profitably, while at the same time improving the land and the environment.
If you would like to help decorate the Ag PhD Salute to Farmers float, we would love your help! Each year, thousands of volunteers help decorate Rose Parade floats, and we want to make this opportunity available to YOU! To volunteer, click here to enter by December 4th, 2017.
The 2018 Rose Parade Pre-Show Monday, January 1st 10:30 AM ET, 9:30 AM CT, 8:30 AM MT, 7:30 AM PT.
The 129th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade Monday, January 1st 11 AM ET, 10 AM CT, 9 AM MT, 8 AM PT.
Thank you again for 20 great years, and we hope you tune in to RFD-TV to see the “Salute to Farmers” Float in the 2018 Tournament of Roses Parade!!
