Most farmers know that their children's future will probably not be in agriculture, but they have a hard time imagining a different life.
The brutal fact is that which foods are available in your grocery store is determined by trade wars, agriculture policy, and the outsized power wielded by large corporations.
While the developed world has shifted from agriculture to manufacturing and then to services, the number of jobs has always climbed.
High tech companies that focus on research, development and production will learn that they can be the perfect complement to our world-renowned agriculture heritage.
All the companies I've worked for have this deep problem of devolving to something like the hunting and gathering cultures of 100,000 years ago. If businesses could find a way to invent 'agriculture,' we could put the world back together and all would prosper.
I hope people will learn more about agriculture in America. About locally grown farming and about water conservation. About how much pollution results from beef and pig farming.
We have to bring children into a new relationship to food that connects them to culture and agriculture.
We eat every day, and if we do it in a way that doesn't recognize value, it's contributing to the destruction of our culture and of agriculture. But if it's done with a focus and care, it can be a wonderful thing. It changes the quality of your life.
On the Agriculture Committee, I will be an ardent and strong champion for our farmers to ensure that they are treated fairly, particularly in regards to how their products are priced.