Those in agriculture understand the importance of promoting our products – from crops and livestock to recreation.
We also need to promote our way of life and our businesses We’re getting better, but it is hard to tell our story, and many of us are not very good at it.
Agriculture is misunderstood by many, and there is so much misinformation out there. Some even want ranching and farming to disappear for good. However, I believe once people realize it is a family farmer or rancher who provides their food, they will change their minds.
Like I said, it is up to us to promote ourselves and tell our story.
One of the problems for those in ag is finding the time for promotion, but there are many ways to support ag, such as supporting Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom (WAIC).
This organization works with teachers in second- through fifth-grade classrooms across Wyoming. WAIC provides a curated curriculum, which meets state standards and informs students about agriculture and natural resources in the Cowboy State.
I was surprised while recently reading study results on the impact of county and state fairs and the value of fairgrounds. Fairs are a great way to promote agriculture, especially these days when cowboy and cowgirl culture is so popular.
The International Association of Fairs and Expositions shared detailed information and results of a recent study on the overall economic impact of fairs and fairgrounds across the nation, illustrating a significant influence across the Rocky Mountain Region.
Coupled with statewide data from nine associations, the result was a database comprising nearly 1,400 fairgrounds throughout the U.S.
This comprehensive study provides valuable insight into the economic and fiscal contributions in host communities with fairs and fairgrounds.
Some of the key findings from the study across the six- state Rocky Mountain Region were fairgrounds generated $4.9 billion in economic activity. More than 50 percent of the economic impact is generated by the 80 smallest fairs and 35 percent of the population of these states attends a fair.
These are huge numbers, but it is important to remember this is rodeo and ag country.
Some other key findings in our region were fairs and fairgrounds attracted 219.8 million visitors, 64.8 percent of the population, and they brought in $4.9 billion in economic impacts.
Also 192,880 hotel room nights were generated; 39,200 ongoing jobs were sustained; $1.7 billion in wages were created and $101.1 million state fiscal impacts were generated in sales and hotel tax revenues.
Besides the fiscal contributions, think about all of the promotion on the Western way of life and youth with their 4-H and FFA projects that tell the story of agriculture.
I never would have guessed those numbers could be so high, but just look how agriculture was promoted. We’ll take it.
Dennis Sun is the publisher of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup, a weekly agriculture newspaper available online and in print. To subscribe, visit www.wylr.net or 800-967-1647.
