Proclamation 4361

April 2, 1975

The demand for agricultural products is at an all-time high both here and abroad. In addition to supplying food for the tables of over 213 million Americans, America's farms and ranches are seen by many millions of people abroad as a source of nourishment. Our agricultural abundance is possible not only because of the blessings of fertile soil and advanced technology, but also because of the capable, hard-working, innovative people in whose hands these immense food and fiber resources are entrusted.

Maintenance of a high level of agricultural production is not without such impediments as shortages of some supplies needed for production, adverse weather and accidents. Farmers and ranchers may not be able to control shortages or nature. But they can do a great deal to control accidents which seriously injure and kill thousands of farm and ranch residents each year. Along with the human suffering and material losses to farm and ranch families, accidents handicap our efforts to feed and clothe our people and help alleviate hunger in the world. Maximum production will be possible only when accident numbers are reduced to a minimum.

Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the week beginning July 25, 1975, as National Farm Safety Week. During this week and the ensuing year, I urge all who live and work on the Nation's farms and ranches to plan for accident prevention and to implement their plans with intelligence and resolve. Further, I invite all who work with and serve our agricultural producers to back these personal accident prevention efforts with every possible encouragement and educational aid. Any strategy to reap full production from our agricultural enterprises must include planning for the safety of those who live and work on our farms and ranches, not only when in the field but also when at home, at play or on the Nation's public roads.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the one hundred ninety-ninth.



GERALD R. FORD