Farm To City Breakfast Reminder Of Ag Importance

The Rotary Club of Cookeville hosted its annual Farm to City Breakfast Tuesday to kick off Farm to City week.

The Rotary Club hosted the breakfast along with the Putnam County UT Extension office and the Putnam County Farm Bureau. Putnam County Farm Bureau Agency Manager Phillip Baker said the event has been held annually for the last 35 years and is a way for local agriculture leaders and community leaders to get together and talk about how vital agriculture is to Putnam County.

“Knowing who your providers are for your food that’s just important,” Baker said. “And we feel like events like this help us to highlight just that strong importance and understanding that the agricultural community plays a very important role in our local economy.”

Baker said about 1.5 percent of the population in the United States helps produce food for the rest of the population while the average American farmer produces enough food to feed 160 Americans. Baker said the event is held on Tuesday during the week of Thanksgiving as we should be thankful for the food we have.

“As a country, we have a lot to be thankful for during the Thanksgiving season,” Baker said. “I think starting with just the food that we are able to enjoy is certainly something to be thankful for because we know unfortunately a lot of folks around the world don’t have the availability of food that we do here in the United States.”

Baker said the event has also been a good way to help local governments and the agriculture industry stay on the same page so the community’s needs can continue to be met.

“Anytime we can share a meal together or communicate with one another about our common needs and about our common desires,” Baker said. “Those conversations are always great to have, so this is just an opportunity to facilitate those conversations. Get those conversations going between agriculture and our business community.”

Baker said agriculture leaders will also discuss some issues they have had in the past year. Baker said the drought in the Upper Cumberland has done some damage to the agriculture industry.

“You could potentially have a herd of cattle in the spring or in the winter and run short of hay which that is never a good position to be in,” Baker said. “So the drought again with most of our local farmers being cow-calf operators the effect on pasture land probably has the greatest impact on our local producers.”

The Farm to City Breakfast was held at Stevens Street Baptist Church. Farm to City Week runs from Nov. 25th – Nov. 29th.