The week before Thanksgiving was a tremendous one for me. Tremendous in the sense that I spoke in Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Kansas so my interaction with a couple thousand food producers from different regions of the country made it very rewarding. An interesting thing happened on the journey that hasn't happened for quite some time. In each of the three states other than Kansas, I had one person mention the signs that say, "One Kansas farmer feeds 128 people and YOU". On my way to Phillipsburg, Kan., I stayed in Goodland where I met Mike Frank in a restaurant. Mike is a New York native that teaches economics at Colby Community College. Low and behold, he mentioned the sign as well.

If you are not familiar with the signs along I-70 and I-35 through Kansas, here is a little history. In 1978, the Kansas Agri-women launched a public awareness campaign that they called "Symbols of Agriculture." At the time the signs were first erected, they read, "One Kansas farmer feeds 55 people and you." The signs were updated until 1999 and then the USDA no longer made the data available, sighting the complexity of agriculture. If we still conduct an ag census, I don't understand why it would be so complex to figure that out. If they struggle with that simple computation, I highly suggest they stay out of the National Animal ID program.

It seems that these little eight-foot by eight-foot signs along the interstate in one state are doing more to bring an appreciation from our consumers than anything else right now? I have long believed that if we are truly going to educate the United States consumers, we must take our extensive scientific reports and condense them into a bumper sticker. That is exactly what the Kansas Agri-women have accomplished.

I spoke at the Lancaster, Pe Chamber of Commerce Ag appreciation banquet on this trip. Two memorable things happened while I was there. I met Karl Hess, who proudly told me that the crops harvested off his farm this fall were the 250th harvest his family had taken from that land. Wow! Talk about history and heritage. Fittingly, his son was serving as President of the Pennsylvania State FFA Association when President George W. Bush came to town and was honored to introduce the President to the future agricultural leaders in the state of Pennsylvania.

My other encounter, however, was somewhat troubling. Abraham Fischer was honored with the Century Farm award that evening in Lancaster. When Mr. Fischer was asked about passing the farm on to the next generation he responded, "Are you kidding me? With today's farmland values there is no way we will be able to keep this family farming for another generation." His comments illustrate the greatest challenge that we may have in maintaining food production on United States soil.

In the American Farm Bureau Federation's 20th annual informal survey of the price of basic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table, the average cost of this year's feast for 10 is $36.78, a $1.10 price increase from last year's survey average of $35.68.

I join AFBF President Bob Stallman in asking, "...all Americans to take a moment during their Thanksgiving celebrations to recognize the role our farmers and ranchers play in producing an abundant, affordable and safe food supply throughout the year. In spite of significantly higher expenses farmers are facing this year due to energy costs, the bounty and affordability of the Thanksgiving meal remains something we can all celebrate."

The bottom line is that unless we take the initiative and educate our consumers in the form of a bumper sticker, the United States consumer will not think or care about where their reasonably-priced, high-quality, safe food comes from. Let's remind them not only to be thankful for the food but also for the people who make it possible for them to enjoy that food.

Editor's note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.FacesOfAg.com, or e-mail Trent at trent@loostales.com.