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22 SUGAR PRODUCER | MARCH 2023 A brand-new year is an exciting time of reflection, goal setting and fresh challenges. While we don't always know what the future holds, we do know there will be many causes for celebration in 2023. This month, the American sugar industry is excited to celebrate National Ag Day's 50th birthday on March 21. A brand new year is an exciting time of reflection, goal setting and fresh challenges. While we don't always know what the future holds, we do know there will be many causes for celebration in 2023. This month, the American sugar industry is excited to celebrate National Ag Day's 50th birthday on March 21. National Ag Day, which takes place every March, was started by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) in 1973. The ACA is a non-profit organization composed of leaders in the agricultural, food and fiber industries and is dedicated to increasing the public's awareness of agriculture in modern society. The organization's goals are to help consumers better understand and appreciate agriculture's role in providing safe, abundant and affordable food. No holiday, birthday, wedding or other special event would be complete without real sugar, nature's oldest sweetener. National Ag Day is a great time to reflect on all the planning and effort that goes into putting a beautiful birthday cake or traditional holiday treat on the table. The seeds and stalks for each successful celebration are planted every spring and fall by America's 11,000 sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers. There are a lot of hands from the field to the factories, mills, processing plants and refineries involved in producing the eight million metric tons of sugar annually that is grown on two million acres in the U.S. Employees at these facilities purify and package the sugar, a naturally occurring plant product. The sugar family works together throughout the year so your family can have its cake and eat it, too. The best way to celebrate the story of American agriculture is to share it, and the Sugar Association can help. Our website, www.sugar.org, has lots of great information about sugar production, its functions in foods and how it fits into a balanced diet. Be sure to check out our resources and materials for teachers, students, health professionals and general consumers. Read and share our profiles of the sugarbeet and sugarcane producers and how they support 142,000 jobs in 22 states. Our industry's organizations, like the Sugar Association, can package and disseminate educational materials about many important topics to consumers and government officials. However, nothing compares to hearing from and seeing those who are making it all happen—you. No one can tell your story like you can. It is critically important for us not to assume consumers or policymakers know the real story about real sugar or what it takes to get sugar to our tables. We must all engage in dialogue, whether through our communities or schools, speaking to state and federal governments, writing articles or being active in social media. Social media is a powerful opportunity to include and connect people to ag who may not experience it as part of their every day lives. Create a social media post about what agriculture means to you. It could be a photo from the field, a National Ag Day: A Chance To Showcase The Real Sugar Story Suggestions on how to share the good news FROM THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION By Courtney Gaine, R.D., Ph.D., President & CEO