American farmers and ranchers literally help feed the world by producing a bounty of agricultural products. To do this, they rely on essential partnerships with urban and suburban communities to supply, sell and deliver finished products across the country and around the globe.

Rural and urban communities working together have made the most of our nation's rich agricultural resources as they contribute to the health and well being of our country and to the strength of our economy.

For many years, Hall County Cooperative Extension and the Greater Hall Chamber have coordinated the annual Hall County Farm City Week Breakfast in observance of National Farm City Week, the third week in November each year.

During the week, local farmers and those working in agriculture and agribusiness are honored to encourage the building of strong relationships between our rural and urban community and our city businesses and leaders.

This year, the Hall County Farm City Week Breakfast is set for 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17 at the East Hall Community Center.

The purpose of the Hall County Farm City Breakfast is twofold: To highlight the impact of agriculture and agribusiness in Hall County, and to educate and enlighten the entire community on the importance of agriculture to Hall County and Georgia.

This year's Farm City Week Breakfast speaker is U.S. Rep. Tom Graves of Ranger. Graves was elected to fill the unexpired term of former Rep. Nathan Deal back in the summer and is already making a name for himself in Washington. We hope you'll help us welcome our new congressman to Hall County.

Before his recent election to the House of Representatives, Graves served in the Georgia General Assembly for 7 1/2 years. He served on the Transportation, Ways and Means and Health and Human Services committees and was Vice Chairman of the Motor Vehicles committee. He chaired numerous subcommittees including State Highways, Tax Reform and General Health and served in several leadership positions including Senior Deputy Whip.

The program will begin at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and should conclude by 9 a.m. For more information or to RSVP, call the Extension office at 770-535-8293. Farmers, agribusiness leaders, and local residents interested in agriculture are invited to attend.

Billy Skaggs is agriculture agent and county extension coordinator for the UGA Cooperative Extension in Hall County. You can contact him at 770-535-8293, www.hallcounty.org/extension. His column appears biweekly on Thursday's Business page and at gainesvilletimes.com.