When they are 9 years old, most farmers and ranchers memorize the 4-H pledge. Twenty, 40, even 60 years later ­– many of them can still recite it. Why? Because the 4-H pledge taps into the sense of social responsibility that American farmers have. It goes like this:

I pledge my Head to clearer thinking,
my Heart to greater loyalty,
my Hands to larger service and
my Health to better living,
for my club, my community,
my country, and my world.

And like all true pledges… these farmers mean what they say. That’s why farmers, along with your county Farm Bureau, take activism to heart. Here are just a few examples.

Farmers Fight Hunger
Last year, American Farm Bureau Federation and its farm and ranch families raised more than $160,000 and donated more than 6.7 million pounds of food to hungry Americans through the organization’s “Harvest for All” program. Combined, the monetary and food donations provided the equivalent of 6.4 million meals through Feeding America-affiliated food banks across the country.

You might be surprised to learn that the Farm Bill is also one of agriculture’s greatest hunger fighters. Much of the Farm Bill budget is dedicated to food aid, including:

• Food Stamps: Renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP helps low-income people and families buy the food they need for good health.
• WIC: The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program helps safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age five who are at nutritional risks by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to healthcare.
• School Meals: The School Meals program provides nutritional education and nutritious meals, such as breakfast, lunch, and after-school snacks, to children in order to promote learning readiness and healthy eating habits.
• Global Food Aid: The United States is one of the most generous providers of in-kind food aid to fight hunger and starvation around the world, thanks to help from the Farm Bill. U.S. food products identified by the marking "GIFT OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" are among the most visible manifestations of the good will of the U.S. to developing countries.
• And so much more!

Farmers Support Education
We feel pretty safe in saying that one of the points of pride at your county Farm Bureau is their Agriculture in the Classroom program. This one-of-a-kind initiative does just what you’d expect ­– teaches kids about agriculture. But what may surprise you is that Agriculture in the Classroom teaches food safety, nutrition, and science. It also provides teachers with free books, pays for field trips, and awards schools grant money. It is a constant boost to budget-tight schools.

Farmers Respond to Emergencies
Farmers are, well, kind of funny. In what other industry do “businesses” go out of their way to help the competition? But that’s exactly what happens every time a farmer helps his neighbor change a tire or a rancher helps her friend bring in the cattle. Farmers help the “friends” they don’t know, too. When another state is devastated by a flood or another country suffers from drought, county Farm Bureaus across the nation can be found offering financial support, food, or hours of work.

No wonder farmers remember the 4-H pledge decades later… after all, it’s not just a little speech, it’s a pledge to the community, country, and world.