If you're a part of the agriculture industry, then you know that agriculture is a part of almost every aspect of our lives. Everything from the food we eat and the clothes on our back to the paper you write on the table where you may be sitting. Holidays are no different. If you plan to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 17th, either with a special meal or with green beer in your hand, agriculture had an impact.
Check out some of the Ag Facts related to Saint Patrick’s Day.
- 13 Million Pints of Guinness, the unofficial beer of the holiday, will be consumed during St. Patrick's Day
- Over 165 million tons of barley, the main ingredient in Guinness and other beers (most likely green on March 17th), is produced annually worldwide. About 60,000 acres of hops, ingredient in other beers, is harvested each year.
- 34% of Americans plan to make a special dinner for the holiday
- Corned Beef and Cabbage was an American Innovation. Ham and cabbage was eaten in Ireland, but corned beef was a cheaper substitute for impoverished immigrants.
- The U.S. sees a 25% increase in cabbage shipments the week of St. Patrick's Day.
- Each year over 26 billion pounds of beef and 2 billion pounds of cabbage are produced in the United States.
- 60 pounds of green vegetable dye will be added to the Chicago River for their annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration.
- $5.87 billion will be spent during the holiday.
- 54% of Americans plan to celebrate on March 17th.
Other Interesting Facts
- An argument in a pub inspired The Guinness Book of World Records. In 1951, a discussion about the fastest game bird in the U.K. prompted the idea for a "reference book about the superlatives debated in pubs." The first Guinness Book of World Records was published in 1955.
- The Shamrock, a three-leaf clover, was considered a sacred plant that symbolized the arrival of spring. By the 17th century, the clover was a symbol of emerging Irish Nationalism.
- America held the first St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1601 in a Spanish colony in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. In 1773, parades were held in Boston and New York by homesick Irish soldiers serving in the English military.
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St. Patrick's day is a surprisingly big day for agriculture!
