What a great day to get back to the land! From down-to-earth ranchers with lambs bleating nearby to the unfiltered reality of farmworker life upvalley to vegetables starting to peek out in the spring sunshine, we saw the true lifeblood of agriculture in Napa County.

Every time I step foot in a garden or farm, I am always amazed at how much life pulses through the land. When Paul Tarap mentioned that school children sometimes say that milk comes from a carton and food comes from a store, it is easy to see how they have become so disconnected from the realities of food production. Modern life encapsulates society away from the gritty reality that is agriculture. The importance of farmers markets, the food-to-table movement and Agriculture Day is to remind us to take it slow, breathe in the aromas of rosemary and oregano, and remember that without farmers tilling the soil, none of us would be possible.

Submitted by members of Class 31.