This TED Talk features farmer and entrepreneur Eric Santa Rude, recorded live at TEDx

St. Cloud 2018.

So what do people usually say when you're about to give a public talk?

It's to imagine that your audience is naked, right?

Well, I'm doing a different trick tonight, and I'm going to imagine all of us without

farmers. And, well, it's not so much different. And our farmers do so much more for us than

simply feed and clothe and provide us excellent things to drink.

Our farmers are an important part of all of our communities, particularly our rural communities.

And more than that, they're a strong driver of resilient economics.

So think about it this way.

When a brewer buys hops from me, grown here in Minnesota, 90% of that dollar stays in

our state compared to just 10% when they buy from somewhere else.

What that means is a lot.

That 90% means local jobs.

It means tax revenue for better schools and roads.

It means support for the co-ops, the mechanics, all the support staff that are needed for a farm to thrive.

And there are best stewards of the land.

This quote, I think, exemplifies what our family farmers do for us and stewarding our shared natural resources.

That land as a community is the basic concept of ecology,

but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics.

Now, they sure do a lot of good stuff for us, and our family farmers are great. We would all

agree. However, the trends in agriculture today are dire.

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