Proclamation 6952—National Farm-City Week, 1996

In 1840 Daniel Webster said, "when tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers therefore are the founders of human civilization." We pause each year at this time to express our gratitude to American farmers and the millions of Americans working in agriculture-related jobs, and we recognize the importance of agriculture and the essential role that farmers play in our national life. Intertwined with our national history, culture, and economy, American farms continuously sustain us and people around the world with rich produce and crops. Thanks to the professionalism and care of American farmers, we enjoy an abundance of quality and affordable food.

American agriculture is among our Nation's most vital industries, alone generating more than 15 percent of our gross domestic product. Bolstering our economy with a bounty of healthful foods, American agriculture supports more than 21 million jobs, and agriculture-related industries continue to expand, producing good, high-paying jobs and creating $1 trillion for the American economy each year.

The success of American agriculture is a testament to the benefits of farm-city partnerships that stretch all the way from the farmer to the consumer, with thousands of participants in between—researchers, extension agents, scientists, agribusiness companies, shippers, inspectors, processors, manufacturers, marketers and retailers, all helping to guarantee Americans a safe, abundant food supply. For more than 40 years, Americans have observed National Farm-City Week in celebration of these partnerships.

During National Farm-City Week, we celebrate Thanksgiving when Americans will gather around the dinner table to count our Nation's many blessings. Among them is America's agricultural richness and the collaboration between rural and urban communities that helps guarantee our rich quality of life.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 22 through November 28, 1996, as National Farm-City Week. I call upon all Americans, in rural and urban communities alike, to join in recognizing the accomplishments of our farmers and all the hardworking individuals who cooperate to produce an abundance of affordable, quality agricultural goods that strengthen and enrich our country.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-first.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON