Proclamation 6538—National Agriculture Day, 1993

On this first day of spring, it is appropriate that we reflect on America's agricultural heritage. Our history and our future are intertwined with the farmland and the farmers who help nourish and clothe us. Farming, an integral and pervasive aspect of our economy, is critically important in the daily lives of all Americans.

In our markets, farmers offer us the world's safest and most diverse food supply. But agriculture also touches every other facet of our lives: from shirts to schoolbooks, from prescription drugs to the lumber in our homes. The quality of our lives is due in large measure to the efficient productivity of agricultural workers.

Agriculture, America's number one industry, provides 21 million jobs and is the single largest contributor to our net trade balance. The average American farmer produces enough every year to feed and clothe 129 other people.

As efficient and productive as they are in meeting our citizens' basic needs, our farmers have contributed just as much to our culture. They helped found and build our Nation, and our calendar and holidays still reflect the seasons around which they weave their lives. When American food alleviates the hunger of starving children at home or abroad, we are all enriched. Farmers and farmworkers have always exemplified the virtues of patient hard work, of respect for the land, with an under-standing of our responsibility as stewards of the Earth, of careful management of limited resources, and of resiliency in the face of natural disasters.

On this day, I ask all Americans to consider our reliance on agriculture -- the farmers, scientists, processors, shippers, grocers, and others who spend their days providing us with the basics of a good life.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 36, has designated March 20, 1993, as "National Agriculture Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 20, 1993, as National Agriculture Day. I urge the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventeenth.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON