"It's a story of affordable food and good nutrition, both here at home, and meeting those needs around the world," a reporter says from a field in Chicago, Illinois, in a video news report about a group attempting to mobilize U.S. citizens in the fight to protect domestic agriculture.

Sounds a lot like our story—but the reporter isn't talking about The Hand That Feeds U.S.

When you work in Washington, it's easy to get caught up in the politics. You find yourself looking for reasons to defend a point of view or educate your opposition on the merits of a particular cause, and sometimes you lose sight of the fact that those causes are much bigger than any one group or organization.

But every once in a while, we encounter something that forces us to take the time to look around and realize that we're not fighting these battles alone.

Recently, we were fortunate enough to learn more about an organization, which, much like The Hand That Feeds U.S., is working to educate consumers about the importance of modern agriculture, and to rally support for the thin green line of American farmers who feed and clothe the 300 million people in the United States and other parts of the world.

This initiative of the Farm Journal Foundation—aptly named "Farmers Feeding the World"—has taken the message of American agriculture straight to the American people. They have built a mobile exhibit that travels from state to state, offering an educational yet entertaining and hands-on approach to learning about one of the nation's most important industries.

Today's farmers—with the help of modern technology—produce enough food for a global population of 6.3 billion. In fact, modern agriculture is so efficient, that just one American farmer feeds 150 people, and due to rapid population growth, this same farmer will need to feed 250 people by the year 2050.

But that's not all that's changing. As the population expands, it also shifts. People continue to move away from the farm and into the cities, creating a vast disconnect between production agriculture and the food that we eat. In other words: people don't see beyond the grocery store shelves.

"More Americans need to understand the importance of technology-driven sustainable agriculture," says Andy Weber, chairman of the Farmers Feeding the World Foundation.

And Weber's foundation explains the roles that today's farmers have to fill, perhaps better than any we have ever seen. "The American farmer today is part businessman, part scientist, part geneticist, part marketer, part philanthropist and part policymaker, with countless other roles and responsibilities in addition," the website reads.

"Many would have you believe that as farms have grown larger and more business savvy that the family farm is threatened and that caring and stewardship no longer guide the production of food and fiber in this country. Those same many would have you believe that 'modern agriculture' is inherently unworthy of the generations of trust Americans have placed in the American farmer and that the farmer is no longer the bastion of American values he once was."

Much like our "Thin Green Line" message that is being spread by everyone from General Wesley Clark, to the reigning Miss America, Teresa Scanlan, Farmers Feeding the World is urging people outside of rural America to embrace this concept of "commercial farming" that has developed such a stigma in the halls of Congress and urban media outlets.

The exhibit features interactive demonstrations, videos, storyboards, and educational takeaways, in addition to allowing visitors the chance to see modern farm machinery.

Farmers Feeding the World has also teamed up with other organizations such as the Future Farmers of America, to help amplify this message on a level that cannot be reached by one group alone.

As we struggle with the reality of not only an overextended farming population, but an aging one as well, these youth groups play an even bigger role in raising awareness and creating interest among future generations.

"Like modern machinery, these bright young people embody what it will take for agriculture to be sustainable in the future," said Director of Project Development Brian Hogue, of the eager students who have attended the exhibit. "Their deep roots, dirty boots and willingness to adopt new technology will allow them to help feed nine billion people in 2050."

But first, we need to make sure that there's a domestic food supply and an agricultural industry for them to work with when they get there.