The beauty and abundance of the Sauk Valley’s natural resources were evident when Linda and I first drove to the area for my interview at Sauk Valley Community College in March 2015. The endless acres of rich farmland being prepared for the annual planting were awe-inspiring and mirrored what was occurring at hundreds of farms in rural southeastern Indiana, where I was raised. The Rock River was a different story.

As a child, I hunted crawdads in the Flatrock River, a tiny tributary of the east fork of the White River. My friends and I walked across most sections of this “river” (we called it a crick) in a few steps. By comparison, the Rock River was more akin to the Mississippi River to me when we first drove over the bridge connecting Rock Falls and Sterling.

My appreciation for the Sauk Valley’s natural resources has only grown during my 10 years in the area. Few things are more beautiful than a field of tasseled corn and the sun-dappled Rock River. Few things, if any, are more important to the economic vitality of the Sauk Valley than those fields and the other agricultural sectors. Few things, if any, draw visitors to the Sauk Valley more than the Rock River.

Members of this year’s Sauk Valley Community Leadership Program recently got an on-the-ground education about modern farming when they spent the morning at Jakobs Bros. Farms north of Sterling. The expert educators for that morning were Nik and Alex Jakobs, operating partners of their family farm, and Katie Pratt, an owner of her family’s Grand Prairie Farms near Nachusa and the Lee County agriculture literacy coordinator with the Agriculture in the Classroom program.

While natural resources may be one of the least divisive topics in our polarizing political climate, the ignorance most folks have about the complexities of agriculture is alarming. A smattering of the professionals in the leadership class had been raised on farms and, thereby, were not surprised by what they saw and learned on the Jakobs farm. For everyone else, Nik, Alex and Katie introduced them to a world they had not expected.

They learned that only a tiny sliver of the earth (about 4%) is well suited for growing crops, and that sliver is being affected adversely by climate change. They learned that all agriculture, including row crops and livestock, is highly scientific with scary thin profit margins. They learned that multigenerational family farmers such as the Jakobs and Pratt are incredibly dedicated, passionate and well-educated landowners who work tirelessly to provide for their families today, and to ensure their farms will thrive for decades to come.

They learned that the Sauk Valley is blessed with some of the richest soil in the world, and that agriculture is a cornerstone of the Sauk Valley economy. Lee and Whiteside counties are home to about 2,000 farms that directly and through related agribusiness industries employ thousands and generate almost a billion dollars in sales annually.

The Sauk Valley would not be the Sauk Valley we love without farmers like the Jakobs and Pratts.

And the Sauk Valley would not be what it is today and would not have such a promising future without the Rock River and other freshwater resources.

The natural beauty and recreational offerings of the Rock River are commonly appreciated. What is less appreciated is the increasing importance of the abundant fresh water provided by the Rock River and groundwater from several deep aquifer systems.

The Sauk Valley has the fresh water it needs today and into the future, which is not the case for other parts of the country, such as the Southwest. Historic droughts and overconsumption have led to critically low water levels in major reservoirs, and aquifers are dangerously low due to excessive pumping for agriculture and urban development. Climate change is making these problems worse.

The future of agriculture, manufacturing and energy production in the Southwest is in doubt due to water concerns, and people whose livelihoods are tied to those industries and others are looking to water-rich locations such as the Sauk Valley to secure their futures. In our lifetimes, the Sauk Valley will experience significant population and industrial growth because of outmigration from water-poor parts of the country to our water-rich Sauk Valley.

My appreciation for the beauty and abundance of the Sauk Valley’s natural resources has grown during my 10 years in the area, and I thank our neighbors who dedicate themselves to protecting these resources for our children and grandchildren.

• Dave Hellmich is the president of Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon.