To celebrate Ohio Ag Week (the second full week of March) at the Reese house, we made an all-Ohio meal. We used fresh eggs gathered from our own hens that day, bacon and ham from a hog we got from our neighbor, Snowville Creamery Milk from Pomeroy, Ohio and some cheese. The cheese came from the local grocery, but we’re not sure about the exact origin of the cheese, so we fudged a bit there.

Our four-year-old daughter made the meal from the cracking of the eggs (she has been doing this since she was two) to adding the cheese, with some supervision from her mother. The scrambled eggs were delicious and the meal was (almost) all from Ohio. It was a great meal, a fun family project, and a fun way to help the kids learn about where their food comes from during Ohio Ag Week.

During the second full week of March the new Ohio Department of Agriculture director David Daniels also took the opportunity to remind Ohioans about the importance of the state’s top industry.

“Today, agriculture tells a much different story than it did when I was growing up,” Daniels said. “Ohio farmers are on the cutting edge of technology. They are doing things faster and more efficiently, using precision equipment and GPS-guided tractors, and the effects are resonating far beyond Ohio’s borders and into a global marketplace.”

Daniels toured two new facilities that highlight Ohio agriculture not only in terms of benefitting those within the state, but also people around the world. He went to Bluegrass Farms and Central Ohio Logistics Center near Jeffersonville, where food grade Ohio soybeans are cleaned bagged, and shipped around the world. He also visited Feed the World, LLC, in Sabina that exports high quality livestock to foreign countries.

“Ohio farmers and agribusinesses are now sorting and sending thousands of bushels of identity-preserved, food-grade soybeans to Japan and Korea. Through this high-tech process, a customer in Asia can trace back the beans in each bag to the plot of land right here in Ohio they were grown on. The process creates jobs, and the Ohio farmers growing these soybeans are often paid a premium above the standard price of the commodity,” Daniels said. “Ohio’s quality livestock are also in high demand and are being shipped all over the world. In 2010, Ohio exported 7,034 livestock animals compared to the 25,836 livestock animals Ohio exported in 2011. The volume of livestock going through the state is projected to exceed $3.1 million in economic activity, just in feed costs.”

These businesses are a great benefit to the local agricultural economy and to Ohioans in general.

“When Ohio farmers and agribusinesses are successful, we all benefit. There are more jobs and income, and money from these transactions filters through the community and helps support the bank, the grocery store, the local car dealer, or any other number of community businesses,” Daniels said. “The food you buy to feed your family costs less. Simply put, every time another country invests in Ohio agricultural products, it means a better way of life and a secure future for you and your family.”

Agriculture has been the lone bright spot in the darkest of economic times for Ohio.

“Now, more than ever, we need to look toward agriculture. Even when other industries are challenged by changing trends, agriculture continues to be our top industry, adding $107 billion to the economy and providing thousands of jobs to people who live in our state,” Daniels said. “Did you know Mercer County is number one in the state in agricultural production? It is also number one in the lowest level of unemployment in the state. That is no coincidence.”

Agriculture means much more than a great meal of scrambled eggs, and the rest of the plentiful food on the table, for Ohio. Agriculture has always been the engine driving the state’s economy and will continue to fill this role moving forward. For this reason, for every Ohioan, every week should be Ohio Ag Week.