It looks like the idea of “holding the thin green line” first referenced by retired Army General Wesley Clark, and echoed by farm leaders, and even an advertising campaign is getting a warm reception by some important lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

First, House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK), had this to say during a hearing on Feb. 17:

Some outside this [hearing] room may even ask: why should anyone other than those directly involved in agriculture care about the state of the farm economy?

I offer three reasons:

First, as the Federal Reserve puts it, thanks to production agriculture, rural America is leading the U.S. economic recovery, just as it did through the last recession.

Second, food security remains important to national security. In fact, NPR made this point in a recent story titled, Rising Food Prices Can Topple Governments, Too.

And, third, there will be 9 billion people on this planet by the year 2050 and we will need to double production, using less water and land, in order to feed them all.

These facts are a wake-up call to anyone who believes that agriculture no longer matters to our economy. But there is another eye-opener.

Some of you may have seen the black bumper stickers with a thin blue line across them, with that thin blue line representing our police force. Well, today, there are just 210,000 Americans out there who are responsible for 80 percent of U.S. agricultural production.

These Americans support our economy, help keep us secure, and in these 210,000 people lies the answer to the question of how we are going to feed 9 billion people come the year 2050. In short, these American men and women form a very thin line that we had better hold.

During a speech delivered a few days later, Senate Agriculture Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-KS) took aim at those who would tear down the thin green line by explaining what’s at stake:

My friends, [the attacks have] got to stop. Not just for the survival of our Kansas farms and ranches, not just for the survival of this business we call agriculture, but because of the moral imperative we have as a nation.

Over the next several decades the world’s population will rise from 6 billion to 9 billion people. During that same time frame we must double our agriculture production in order to feed a troubled and hungry world…

It is also a matter of national security.

A well-fed world is a much safer and stable place than a hungry world. Full bellies lead to stability, economic growth and peace.

Hungry bellies lead to discontent, instability, and extremism…

We must feed this world.

We must give our farmers and ranchers the tools you need to be successful, maintain your operations, and continue to expand your production. Our government, its Congress, and its regulatory agencies need to get out of the way and let you do your jobs.

Nine billion people and a world hungry for nutrition, peace, and stability are depending on it.

Well said, gentlemen.