This week nearly 250 state, regional and national farm, ranch and agribusiness organizations sent a heartfelt “thank you” to Chrysler Group Chair and CEO Sergio Marchionne – and his Ram Trucks team – for its outstanding XLVII Super Bowl commercial “So God Made a Farmer.” 

The ad kicks off a campaign declaring 2013 “The Year of the Farmer,” and features gorgeous still images from ten noted photographers including William Albert Allard and Kurt Markus. The commercial’s crowning glory, however, is legendary radio broadcaster Paul Harvey’s recitation of his essay on the virtues of the American farmer, which he originally delivered at a Future Farmers of America conference in 1978. Mr. Harvey passed away in 2009. 

“The commercial, with its poignant earnestness reminded the millions who watched the game that farmers and ranchers—those that feed and clothe the country and much of the world—must be appreciated and recognized for what they do, and how well they do it,” said Kay Johnson Smith, President and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance which coordinated the letter with assistance from the Farm Animal Welfare Coalition, an ad hoc agriculture coalition coordinated by Steve Kopperud, Executive Vice President of Policy Directions Inc., a Washington, DC consulting firm. “I think a hush came over many Super Bowl parties when this advertisement ran—it was so different from the flashy, comical advertisements that you usually see; it really showcased a piece of Americana.”