Proclamation 4254—National Farm-City Week, 1973

Never before in history has so much of the world looked to the American farmer for its food supply. The ability of less than 3 million farmers to keep Americans the best-fed people in the world, while simultaneously meeting the demands of countless millions overseas, is one of our Nation's greatest success stories. This success has contributed significantly not only to our own economic wellbeing but also to the peace and progress of all mankind.

A strong bond of interdependence links America's farms to America's cities. We should do everything we can to strengthen that bond. People in rural areas and people in urban areas must become increasingly aware of the needs and aspirations of those who live elsewhere, for neither group can prosper without the other. National Farm-City Week is an excellent vehicle for advancing this purpose.

Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the period of November 16 through November 22 as National Farm-City Week.

I call on our agricultural organizations, business groups, labor unions, schools, and other interested groups, to participate in this observance. I request the Department of Agriculture, our land-grant educational institutions, and all appropriate organizations and government officials to mark the significance of National Farm-City Week with special events and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-eighth.

RICHARD NIXON