A reminder goes out to all that Thursday is the final day to make reservations for the Butler County Farm-City and Annual Awards Banquet.

Previously the Farm-City Banquet was held in November but that was changed to coincide with National Ag Week and National Ag Day.

The Farm-City Banquet is co-sponsored by Butler Rotary, Butler County Conservation District, Penn State Cooperative Extension and agricultural agencies.

This year's banquet will be held March 16 at Butler County Community College Founder's Hall. Light refreshments will be served at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30. Tom Palchak, manager of the Penn State Creamery, will be the guest speaker for the evening.

The program will focus on "The History of the Penn State Creamery from 1865 to the Present."

Tickets can be purchased from the Penn State Extension Office 724-287-4761, Farm Service Agency, 724-482-4800 Ext. 2, or by contacting Butler Conservation District at 724-284-5270.

Cost per person is $10 paid in advance; there will be no tickets sold at the door. Tickets may also be purchased from any Butler Rotarian member.

Farm-city relations continue to be a challenge, even more so in a county like Butler that is seeing more and more of a population increase.

Farmers need to take every opportunity to inform and educate their nonfarming neighbors. The fact that most of society is at least one and maybe two generations removed from production agriculture will only mean intensifying this effort in the future.

Generally, nonfarmers are supportive of agriculture. This is especially true if they understand what all is involved to operate a farm today.

Farm-city alliances need formed so that when support is needed for various proposals, the entire community understands the positive and negative aspects of each.

In the U.S., our food is cheap compared to other countries. Americans only spend about 11 percent of their disposable income on food.

The U.S. has the safest, most abundant food supply in the world.

With respect to the Farm-City Banquet, the highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Bullshipper Award presented each year to the individual who excels in promoting farm-city relations in and around Butler County.

Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.