From take-off to touch down, a non-stop flight from Mississippi to Washington D.C. takes about two hours. For the largest general farm organization in Mississippi and its members to make an imprint on Capitol Hill, it takes many, many hours of phone calls and face to face meetings just to get your foot in the door. Even then you’re not guaranteed anything. This group of Mississippi Farm Bureau members came to our nation’s Capital, some for the first time, to help Farm Bureau staff and leadership continue to push our members’ issues before those who ultimately make the final decisions.
“Having elected officials and those government officials that we deal with, both regulatory and other areas in farm program, has been super attentive to what we’re asking, what we’re looking for in our business, and I think that’s always helpful not only in catfish but in other crops,” said Andy Prosser, Simmons Catfish.
This is Jeff Easterling’s first trip to Washington D.C. as Farm Bureau’s South Mississippi Vice President. He calls the trip eye opening.
“Being here and walking through the halls and the chambers and walking in and out of offices and just seeing the day‑to‑day operations here, and what it takes to take policy from the grassroots and to bring it all the way to the floor to get it passed and to see it become something that’s beneficial for all farmers,” said Easterling. “It’s really been an enlightened time here on this fly in to build relationships.”
The Mississippi Farm Bureau delegation on this trip included members from the South Delta and east central parts of the state. Producers included row crop farmers to cattle, poultry and catfish, plus both young and experienced members. Jones County Farm Bureau member and poultry producer Kirby Mauldin was thrilled to speak directly to Representatives and Senators specifically about Mississippi poultry.
“Being able to come up here and advocate for my fellow poultry producers in our state and tell them the issues that I’m hearing back home and the issues that I have on my farm, and the issues in the future, yeah, I take great responsibility in that,” said Kirby Mauldin, Jones County Poultry producer
Members broke into small groups to cover more ground in a short about of time, just one afternoon. They made the most of each meeting with Representatives and Senators who specifically make decisions on agriculture from Representative Sanford Bishop from Georgia to House Agriculture Committee chairman G.T. Thompson from Pennsylvania. Issues discussed ranged from the upcoming Farm Bill, reference price increases, restoring funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program, including catfish in the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program, risk management for contract poultry producers, and safety net improvements for row crop producers.
“I never would’ve thought we’d get the access to actually be heard and listened to the way we have,” said Riley Weaver, Washington County row crop producer. “These senators and congressmen opened up their office, sitting down, actually caring about what we have to say, listening, and it’s real encouraging for me seeing that on this level.”
“I feel like they’re generally interested in the topics that we’ve discussed so far and I feel like that we’re making some progress on things that are important to growers in Mississippi and livestock producers, and I think it’s a good trip,” said Chris Davis Carroll County cattle producer.
“It’s good to know that they’re fighting for us and they care about our issues,” said Reid Carter, Sharkey County row crop producer. “They’re extremely receptive and they want to help and so I think it’s extremely good for us as farmers to come here and present issues, thank them for what they’re doing, and ask them for further help.”
In between, mix in meetings and events with our state delegation including Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde Smith, Congressmen Michael Guest and Mike Ezell, plus USDA staff, American Farm Bureau, and the U.S. Senate Ag Committee staff, members almost don’t have time to catch their breath. Although, this access didn’t happen overnight, those members who took part in the trip now understand how important a Farm Bureau membership can be.
“I never thought a $35.00 membership could open the door to what it has and you get to see, when you’re sitting in your county board meetings and talking about those policies, and you get to Washington and you see what it’s doing, that’s the neat part about it,” said Jonathan Cranford, Clarke County Farm Bureau President. “It’s not just hit the ceiling and it’s not going anywhere. It’s not falling on deaf ears.”
“When Farm Bureau is in the room with you, they are very attentive and I think their staffs are as well. I think I can’t leave the staff out. I think they’re an integral part of what goes on here in Washington, D.C., and to be able to get in front of them and talk about our issues has been unbelievable for us,” said Prosser.
“Just to take this back to our home counties and just begin to educate the people of how important this is—that we’re not just gathering, we’re not just going to meetings, we’re not just sitting around the table talking about ideas, that we’re actually putting things into place that sustains our way of life,” said Easterling.