Legislative Reception, Landmark Leadership Kick Off 2025
Kicking off 2025, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation members welcomed state legislators back to Jackson with the annual legislative reception. This way farmers, ranchers, and members can speak face to face about the issues effect their farm and community.
“It was good to kind of see some of the people I’ve talked to on the phone. You know, I put a name with a face, said hey, I’m the guy that called you. I’m from Jones County, you know,” said Jones County poultry farmer, Seam McDonald.
And whether their senators or representatives know their faces or not, hearing Farm Bureau, let’s them know they are a trusted source not just for AG, but their rural communities.
“Those guys are people that I call frequently if I ever have questions about policy or anything coming down the line. They know it, they understand it, and they’ll give us an honest assessment about what’s going on,” said Rep. Jonathan McMillan of Madison County. “So, I rely on Farm Bureau and everybody that works with Mike on down rely on them heavily to make decisions on what we got going on in the state.”
“I talk to someone with Farm Bureau probably two or three times a day. With my daytime job with the Cattlemen’s Association, I’ve got a lot of contacts there across the country. So, we’ve got a pretty good pulse, so I believe I got a pretty good pulse of the state of agriculture,” said Rep. Andy Berry.
This year, cutting taxes is the big topic on everyone’s mind with potential cuts to income tax for all Mississippians, but specifically in ag circles, reducing tax on poultry houses. Both the House and Senate look to tackle the issue.
“We received a notification from our growers about their taxes and the square footage and how taxes are calculated. So, we’re going to be looking at a bill in the Senate and talking about how we can make sure that that’s done equitably and does not put our farmers in a bind if something like that comes up,” said Senator Robin Robinson.
“I’m confident we’ll have a good bill that will address the concerns that we all heard as legislators from the poultry farmers back in the fall, and I think we’ll have a good bill.,” said Rep. Scott Bounds of Philadelphia, MS.
The event also gave lawmakers the opportunity to promote ideas for the district they represent among constituents and those who can help them turn the idea into reality.
“I’m looking at the various things that we have that can be developed and I’m trying to work with the legislature and legislators to understand that what we’re talking about is an opportunity to: 1) set up industries to educate our people, 2) we’re looking at developing an area where individuals will be able to come to other than go away from,” said Senator Albert Butler of Port Gibson.
Also new this year, Potts Camp Senator, Neil Whaley will lead the Mississippi Senate’s Agriculture Committee replacing Senator Chuck Younger who is moving on to the Transportation Committee. The announcement was made by Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann earlier in the day, and the reception gave Farm Bureau members and Senator Whaley alike the opportunity to get to know each other.
“They let me know what the people in rural Mississippi are thinking, what they need help with, and that’s very vital. Me coming from that, I know a lot about that, but there are a lot of members of the legislature that don’t live this life,” said Whaley. “So, Farm Bureau is critical for us to be able to work things through the process, so I appreciate everything Farm Bureau does.”
Senator Whaley says his agriculture roots go back seven generations in North Mississippi. With the reception, the award-winning Landmark Leadership Council drew Farm Bureau members ages 35 to 55 to central Mississippi with national and local speakers focusing on leading the agriculture discussion, the Ag economy, the importance of MFBF’s FARM Fund PAC, and networking possibilities in 2025.
“We’ve kind of gotten caught up in just working every day, raising a family, just being busy with life in general,” said Tate County row crop farmer Daniel Brooks. “And I know how important Farm Bureau is and what an advocate they are for us as farmers, and it just kind of drew me back in and removed something that I already had in me to promote agriculture.”
“It’s been a great tool to kind of keep us networking, you know, kind of keep in touch with a lot of the people.,” said McDonald.
Moving the state’s largest general farm organization to new heights as we strive to go Above, beyond for Mississippi agriculture and our members in 2025.