Where does milk come from?

From cows, silly!

When you put on a wool sweater, do you think about the sheep that provided the wool? As you eat your cereal, do you think about the soil, water, and all the workers between the grain field and your cereal bowl?

It all starts with farming. Farmers and ranchers grow the food and fiber we need and other people make them into the stuff we use everyday.

Supermarkets, clothing shops, garden centers, and dozens of other places bring the products right to you.

When you woke up this morning, you had your first encounter with farming. After all, your bed sheets were probably made from cotton plants.

Did you wash or shower with soap? Oil from corn and soybeans were used in making that soap.

Did you have cereal, eggs, milk, bacon, pancakes, buttered toast, or juice for breakfast? Thank a farmer again.

Did you pack a lunch in a paper bag, or finish today’s math by writing on paper? Paper comes from another farm crop – trees. Corn and soybean by-products helped hold the ink on the paper.

How did you get to school? Did you walk in leather shoes? Did you pass a city park, a golf course, an orchard, or nursery? All these involve farming too.

So what does NRCS do?

NRCS - the Natural Resources Conservation Service - is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

NRCS employees help farmers and ranchers take care of their natural resources so they will never run out.

It‛s about balance - never taking more from the earth than can be replaced or remade.

What are natural resources?

Soil, water, air, plants, animals, and people are the natural resources we depend on for everything from the air we breath to the food we eat to the clothes we wear.

Did you know...

. . . each American farmer feeds more than 120 people?

. . . farm products are America’s #1 export?

. . . new technology means farmers are more environmentally friendly than ever before?

We should all take pride in American farming! It touches all of our lives.

The farm needs the city and the city needs the farm. We depend on farming products for food, clothing, and shelter.

What can you do?

Thank a farmer.

Conserve water.

Plant a tree.

Join the Earth Team (if you’re at least 14-years-old).

Feed birds or other wildlife.

Help your parents

- reduce trash.

- reuse old things.

- recycle.

Conserve energy.

Tell your friends about conservation.

Remember

- food doesn’t come from the grocery store

- water doesn’t come from the tap!

Visit us at www.ar.nrcs.usda.gov. 

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