Farm Bureau\u2019s Season of Grassroots Advocacy

WASHINGTON REPORT

Farm Bureau’s Season of Grassroots Advocacy

By JohnWalt Boatright, Coordinator of National Affairs

We are coming off

of a successful Farm Bureau Legislative Days event in Tallahassee to kick off the start of the state legislative session, as well as gearing up for our fly-in to Washington, D.C. It’s that time of year again!

In mid-May, our membership will once again make the annual pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. for Florida Farm Bureau’s 2019 Field to the Hill Trip.

Detailed briefing sessions at the American Farm Bureau office will run the gamut from current water and environmental issues to the current trade wars to hurricane disaster relief to our ongoing pursuit of agricultural labor reform. We work hard to ensure these briefings are accurate and timely.

From there, our members will take to the Hill to engage our 29-member Florida delegation in these issues. At these meetings, members are afforded in-person discussions with the officeholders and staff tasked with representing nearly 750,000 constituents.

Finally, we typically conclude our trip with an agency visit to meet with the officials responsible for implementing

Last year U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio held lengthy discussions with Florida Farm Bureau visitors during the Field to the Hill Trip.

the laws passed by Congress. In the past, we have met with officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as other administrative agencies that regulate some aspect of agriculture.

My Agricultural Law professor referred to administrative agencies as the fourth branch of government – a title bestowed to convey how powerful they have become over the course of our republic’s existence.

Of course, Field to the Hill is a busy, three-day event, but it is important to remind Washington, D.C. that farmers and ranchers are involved constituents. And it is equally important that you are in the room when these meetings take place.

While Florida Farm Bureau works year-round to amplify your voice, we are most impactful when we can borrow you from your farms and families so that you can speak to your challenges directly with our national lawmakers.

In fact, the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) has surveyed congressional offices over the course of a decade to obtain direct feedback on the best ways to communicate a message so that it is heard and understood. Over a period of ten years and three surveys, CMF’s study concluded that “in-person visits from constituents” are the most effective form of interaction with a congressional office, more so than any other method.

We are at the apex of our advocacy season, and we need your help to deliver the message. Visit www.floridafarmbureau.org/ fieldtothehill/.