Mankind’s closest relationship with Earth has been through agriculture. Agriculture is the machinery by which our relationship with Earth is operationalized. And like other machinery, agriculture must run efficiently, use as little fuel as possible and achieve the tasks that were asked of it, in this case to feed the world. We marvel at what Earth offers us and recognize we must protect it especially during a time when agriculture must achieve even higher heights in order to feed the growing world’s population. We grasp that a changing environment has major implications for the planet’s health as well as for agriculture. And we know that innovation and discovery will be at the forefront of all we do to preserve our planet and the sustainability of our agricultural systems. Whether it’s new varieties of crops that are adapted to drought, ways to reuse water or more precisely irrigate, technologies that promote lower input production while increasing yield, or even unique undiscovered uses for our commodities, science can offer us answers. Research in the critical areas that FFAR supports is the fuel behind this discovery and with our partners at the USDA, the universities and the private sector, we expect to be delivering new technologies and innovation worth celebrating. On this special day of appreciation for Mother Earth, we also celebrate the role of research in protecting our planet.