July/August-09:Layout 1 - Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation

PUBLIC POLICY
By Elizabeth Parsons
MFBF Public Policy Department Painting a Positive Image of Agriculture
With a new administration settling into
the White House, Washington is pushing new
priorities, many of which may directly affect
agriculture. President Obama and members
of Congress have expressed their determination
to pass legislation promoting energy
efficiency, addressing climate change, and
protecting the environment and wildlife. Also,
with a national debt of $1.8 trillion, Congress
must consider where to make budget cuts and
how to allocate its budget to the respective
sectors of the economy.
While Congress and the administration’s
objectives have good intentions, each
objective has the potential to negatively affect
certain areas of the agricultural industry. To
avoid this scenario, farmers and ranchers must
tell their side of the story.
TELLING AG STORY
It is critical that the agricultural industry
proactively seek positive publicity and remind
Americans of the significant role that
agriculture plays in our national economy.
No one understands the day-to-day operations
and struggles of producers better than
the producers themselves. So, farmers and
ranchers should take the opportunity to tell
about the daily struggles that they face to
provide an abundant and affordable source of
food for all Americans.
While this positive publicity will start at
the local and state level, it will eventually
trickle up to our nation’s lawmakers and will
influence their decisions in ways that will
benefit agriculture.
There are many methods and venues
for farmers to positively publicize what
they do locally and statewide, but it will take
considerable time, effort and, sometimes,
training. According to the Center for Profitable
Agriculture, a farmer can successfully
generate positive publicity using the
following strategies:
• Write an article about your day-to-day
operations or a special event at your farm and
send it to a local newspaper or magazine.
• Take the opportunity to speak at local
functions, such as a Rotary Club or a Boy
Scout banquet.
• Meet with your state legislators and U.S.
congressmen to tell them about the issues
you face in your business.
• Host or sponsor a function at your business
and include the media at the event. For
example, invite a class from the local school
to learn how food moves from the farm to
the dinner table.
• Write a blog which documents exciting
events that arise on the farm and current
legislative or regulatory issues facing
your operation.
• Take the lead on a community project or
support a local charity.
Each of these methods provides effective
ways for farmers and ranchers to convey their
positive message to the public and their state
and national leaders. Last November, the
Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, in
conjunction with Mississippi State University,
invited state legislators who served on the
agriculture committee to visit the farms of
several Farm Bureau members.
Many legislators who attended stated
that the tours provided them with a visible,
concrete image of the daily tasks faced by
producers of all commodities. These tours also
showed legislators the efforts put forth by
Mississippi producers to provide healthy food,
protect the surrounding environment, and use
energy efficiently.
Often, it only takes a visit by phone or an
invitation to tour your farm to reshape a state
or national leader’s view of agriculture, and
these leaders find this communication most
valuable when they hear concerns directly
from the farmer himself.
FARMERS MUST UNITE
So, as our state and national leaders
consider legislation to address global
warming, energy efficiency, the state and
national budget, and other important issues,
it is time for farmers and ranchers to join in
a united voice and tell agriculture’s side of
the story.
Proactively seeking opportunities for
positive publicity, even at just the local and
community level, will help to educate the
public and our leaders about the efforts taken
by Mississippi farmers to provide healthy,
affordable food while also working to protect
the environment and conserve energy.
Americans are listening, and if we don’t tell
our story, someone else will.
Dairyman Randy Knight takes visitors through his Rankin County operation.
Knight, who also raises stocker calves, is the MFBF Central Mississippi Vice President.
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