Last week’s column summarized our presentation on soil and water to the youth in our local schools in Kleberg and Kenedy counties during Ag. Fair week. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is the agency under the United States Department of Agriculture charged with ensuring the conservation and protection of our natural resources.

With Thanksgiving being celebrated this week, our counties as well as the producers should be thankful for the productive soils that we have. Soils occur everywhere and are considered the foundation of life. This thin layer around the earth helps to produce the abundant food and fiber that we take for granted everyday of our lives.

Americans spend less than 10 percent of their disposable income on food. This is by far less than any other nation in the world with some people spending 70 percent of their income on their food. One farmer now produces enough food for 129 other people. American farmers produce enough to feed all the United States as well as to feed many parts of the rest of the world.

We are thankful for those farmers, ranchers and other landusers that take their stewardship responsibility seriously. Protecting the soil is a must especially with reports that the world population will explode from 6 billion people to 9 billion by 2050. There is not any more productive farmland that can be farmed so production will need to increase to meet this demand for food. Technological advances continue to amaze each and everyday of our lives. But will it be enough?

Let us be thankful for recent rains that have blessed South Texas especially with 10 month dry spell that we experienced. This precious water resource is required to grow all the plants that not only people but animals and wildlife depend on for their existence. We need to do everything we can as a people to conserve the water that we have. It is becoming less abundant with the increasing demands of cities as well as agriculture.

Farming methods as well as irrigation will need to be fine-tuned even more to conserve as much water as we can in order to meet crop and animal requirements. We need to continue to protect and conserve soil and water resources so that we have clean air to breathe. It is truly a balancing act to maintain our ecosystems with the different resources of soil, water, air, plants, and animals in order for them to function properly.

The Kleberg-Kenedy Soil and Water Conservation District who partners with the NRCS to help people help their land has just completed their 2009 Annual Report highlighting the activities and accomplishments of the farmers, ranchers, and youth in the District. Anyone interested in obtaining one should contact their District office at 401 East King Ave., Ste. #100 in Kingsville or call at 361-592-0309 Ext. #3. The District would like to thank those cooperators doing a good job of conserving their resources.

As we sit down over the Thanksgiving turkey, let us be thankful and reflect on all the bountiful resources that we have to make our country great including the folks that protect those resources each and everyday. May all have a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends.