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BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - When you don’t interact with something daily, it can be hard to understand its importance. That’s why Marca Ewers-Shurtleff, a City of Bryan councilmember, is working to bridge the gap when it comes to agriculture.

“It’s a lot easier to understand the agricultural industry when you wake up in the morning, and you engage in it – before you go to school. And, you get out of school. And, you go work on the farm. You spend your time working cattle,” said Ewers-Shurtleff.

She says fewer people have real ties to the farm anymore, especially as cities expand.

“Your average person, especially in a larger city, has no direct touch with the industry as a whole, and I think that’s how we lost touch.”

The best way to bridge the disconnect, according to Ewers-Shurtleff, is for people in the industry to tell their stories. By making the industry more known to people who are not in it, helps curb myths and spark interest.

“A problem within agriculture, and, I’m part of the family so you’ve got to fix things at home first but, it’s that we haven’t been great at telling our story first, or delivering our message. And we have a story to be really proud of.”

She says getting people to care about the land is vital to sustaining the industry for years to come.

“I grew up in Stratford, Texas, where I can confidently say, the cattle outnumbered the people about 1,000 to 1,” she said. “The folks that live on that land, that depend on it every day, are going to be the best stewards of it. Everybody that I grew up with, myself included, takes such pride in the land, and you have to understand that, that land has to have longevity.”