National Farm-City Week, 2011

Proclamation 8757 of November 18, 2011

National Farm-City Week, 2011

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

With tenacity, resilience, and humility, our farmers
and ranchers have helped drive our Nation's growth for
generations. Season after season, their careful
stewardship and dedication brings an abundance of
wholesome food, plentiful fiber, a stronger economy,
and new opportunities to secure our clean energy
future. During National Farm-City Week, we celebrate
the essential contributions of farmers and ranchers to
our country's well-being and recommit to a prosperous
and sustainable future for American agriculture.

As our urban centers continue to grow, we look to our
fields and ranches to supply our markets and families
with fresh, healthy food. To help our farming
communities meet the challenges of the 21st century, I
established the White House Rural Council earlier this
year. By partnering with leaders in rural America, we
have worked to cultivate local and regional food
systems, empower young and beginning farmers, and
support rural businesses. Together, we stand with our
rural communities and reaffirm our commitment to their
continued success.

To make a lasting investment in our Nation's energy
future, my Administration is taking action to promote
renewable energy production across rural America. As
part of a comprehensive strategy to build our clean
energy economy, we are working to produce more
renewable, domestic biofuels and to help bring solar
panel arrays and wind turbines to rural businesses. By
finding new ways to harness homegrown fuels in small
towns and on family farms, we can create new jobs,
improve our energy security, and unlock additional
sources of income for farmers.

This week, we honor the individuals, families, and
communities who provide us the staple foods that
sustain our Nation. As we gather with family and
friends this Thanksgiving, let us pay tribute to the
men and women whose hard work brought the bounty we
find before us from farm to fork.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim November 18 through
November 24, 2011, as National Farm-City Week. I call
upon all Americans to reflect on the vital
contributions of those who dedicate their lives to
promoting our Nation's agricultural abundance and
environmental stewardship.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two
thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.