A Message From the President

FROM THE PRESIDENT

VOLUNTEER COMMITTEES SERVE FARM BUREAU WELL

FLORIDA FARM BUREAU IS A LARGE, DYNAMIC

ORGANIZATION with many dimensions. One of those dimensions is provided by more than 200 volunteers who serve on our advisory committees.

We have a full roster of committees that offer guidance on a comprehensive range of policies and issues.

The committee titles include apiculture, aquaculture, beef, citrus, dairy, environmental horticulture, labor, equine, forestry, fruits and vegetables, peanuts and cotton and sugar.

Other committees address topics that more immediately affect all Floridians, not just farm families: taxes, natural resources and trade. Members of these committees tackle matters that involve the responsible use of public money, the improvement of communities, the economy of our state and the quality of life we all enjoy in Florida.

Committee members are nominated by local Farm Bureau leaders based upon their individual knowledge of the subject and their willingness to serve. They meet at scheduled times to

review policies proposed by individuals and county Farm Bureaus and, after due evaluation, make their recommendations to the voting delegates at the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.

The committee system reflects our grassroots structure. Our members weigh the merits of proposals and their likely impact upon Farm Bureau families throughout the state as well as the feasibility of implementing them.

Over the years we have developed a process for refining the various proposals that emerge from grassroots committee discussions each year. The proposals are evaluated by an oversight committee of volunteers who examine them and formulate policy statements.

Voting delegates at the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting decide whether to adopt each one of them or refer a topic for further consideration.

Farm Bureau policies devised in this way offer practical language with clear goals. They are the foundation of our work plan for each year.

John L. Hoblick, Florida Farm Bureau President

Policies direct everything we do. They are the marching orders for our state staff as well as our volunteers. I frequently refer to them as the 264 most important issues agriculture faces.

Of course, we cannot all agree on every one of the policies adopted. But, overall, they represent the positions most all of our members endorse.

I encourage you to take a close look at our policy book. The book is posted under Publications at www. floridafarmbureau.org.

There is something else you can do. Take time to become involved in your local county Farm Bureau.

I urge you to join your neighbors and other fellow residents in our grassroots tradition. You will be very proud of what Farm Bureau members can accomplish by working together.