F.A.R.M. Fund PAC Opens Doors for Farm Bureau Members to be the Voice of Agriculture
When a group of Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation members are on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. time is of the essence. With the help of MFBF National Affairs Coordinator Justin Ferguson, farmer members from regions three in the south Mississippi Delta and Region six in East Central Mississippi made 24 different stops to speak face to face with lawmakers and staffers.
Of course, visits included Mississippi Senators Cindy Hyde Smith and Roger Wicker and Congressman Mike Ezell, but with the inroads made through the F.A.R.M. Fund PAC, Mississippi farmers also talked about the important issues with Alabama’s Senator Tommy Tuberville and Kansas Senator Roger Marshall.
“It’s an honor to shake their hand and tell them thank you for the things that they’re doing for us, and also to have them be a listening ear and kind of a sounding board for us to tell them, hey, this is what’s happening on our operation; this is what we really could use some help with. So, it’s such a great thing to be here,” said Kay’ce Everett, Jones County poultry, cattle, and row crop farmer.
“These guys here on Capitol Hill need to hear this message and better from the producer or a voice for the producer,” said Chris McClaine, Carroll County cattle and timber farmer.
Chris McClaine is a cattle and timber producer from Carrol County. He also works for Staplctn in Greenwood and hears from farmers every day about their needs.
“They’re actually business partners, but they’ve become friends over time,” said McClaine. They expressed to me a lot of concerns on the farm, and when I told them I was coming here today with Farm Bureau, that knew that I was coming here, they all had something they wanted me to share with the legislators.”
On this trip, a new Farm Bill was on everyone’s mind, but issues surrounding farm labor and also the “Make America Healthy Again” report just release from the Department of Health and Human Services targeting pesticides and herbicides. Washington County’s Walt King is a corn and soybean farmer. King says he’s on this trip to give Mississippi’s congressional delegation firsthand account of what’s happening in agriculture in Mississippi.
“Getting information from the news and calling somebody on the phone is just not the same. You get here. You start talking. You figure things out,” said Walt King, Washington County row crop farmer. “Like they’re hearing things from you that they’ve never heard before or they haven’t heard firsthand, which is a whole lot of a difference from, you know, hearing it on a report or, you know, from secondhand from someone else. We’ve had a few very good meetings.”
But without Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation standing with these members, and the FARM Fund PAC opening the door with agriculture friendly Congressmen and Senators, it would be nearly impossible for these farmers to get this opportunity. A fact not lost on these attendees.
“Farm Bureau gives us that avenue to join our fellow farmers and ranchers there in the state to come up and have a bigger voice than just one person coming by ourselves and hoping that they’ll take our meetings and hear our stories back coming from home,” said Coedy Maske, Newton County cattle farmer.
“Connecting with people that are making the rules and designing the programs that we use,” said King. “It’s let you know that there’s, you know, a group that understands that and is working for you to, you know, make that happen.”
Just another way, your membership in Farm Bureau continues to Elevate, Innovate and Cultivate the mission to push agriculture into the future.
“It’s very important that we have a voice in agriculture. In fact, that is the motto of Farm Bureau,” said Everett. “It’s to be the voice of agriculture. So, we’re glad to be here to discuss some problems and to also thank them for the way that they are advocating for us in return.”