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Kelly Brings Love of Education to Farmers Union Kelly’s great grandfather was an MFU member because Farmers Union advocated for their best interests. Kelly told about how her grandmother rode a horse to the neighbors to share the Kelly spoke while sitting at the meeting details. kitchen table in her grandmother’s house, which, now remodeled, Now, Kelly’s family isn’t as directly is much like Kelly’s involvement involved in agriculture, but she in Montana Farmers Union – is steadfastly passionate about different than the original yet a making sure Montana farmers and fixture to its respective landscape. ranchers thrive. “It’s kind of a long story,” Charlotte Kelly began the tale of how her family came to farm in Montana and why they were involved in Montana Farmers Union.
The tale began when her mother’s side of the family came to Montana through the Homestead Act. Originally, they lived near the Sweet Grass Hills but later moved between Chester and Joplin.
Kelly’s husband Edward raises several cows, and the couple lives in the house on her grandparents’ place. The family’s farm land is leased to other producers, with CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
Montana Farmers Union member Charlotte Kelly stands by the barn on her grandparents’ spread. Kelly runs an annual day camp in Chester, as well as volunteering her time to the Women’s Conference planning committee. Kelly most recently was elected secretary/treasurer of the newly formed Hi-Line Local. Her involvement is part of her family’s long history of MFU membership, including her grandparents, parents and children.
MFU Members Keep Legislature’s Focus Rural As the Montana Legislature gets to work, so are Montana Farmers Union staff and members, with a Legislative Drive-In and lobbying efforts to help family farms and ranches thrive.
your legislators saying why you are or are not in favor of a bill, Somerfeld said, encouraging members to take it a step further and make face-to-face contact with legislators.
“Legislators are debating and reading and trying to understand bills that impact our lives, and it’s like drinking water from a fire hose,” MFU President Walter Schweitzer said.
“When [legislators] see that individual who’s directly affected by whatever, that really hits home more than what the lobbyists say, or even those of us who are down there regularly for an organization,” he said.
“So they rely heavily on groups like ourselves, Farmers Union, to help them make decisions that are going to benefit their local communities, and we need to be able to develop a relationship of trust so that we are the go-to group when legislators see an issue that impacts agriculture or rural Montana,” Schweitzer added.
PRIORITIES DECIDED BY MEMBERS MFU priorities for this session are:
Being involved in the legislative process is as important, if not more so, than voting, said Erik Somerfeld, who sits on MFU’s board and has lobbied on the organization’s behalf many times, including during the first ever Legislative Drive In held earlier in January. Being involved can be as simple as sending an email to
Restore local control and ability to protect Ag land: Montana Farmers Union supports a farmland and rangeland protection policy to encourage the continuation of farming versus urban development. Right to Repair: Montana Farmers Union demands the right for farmers to repair their own equipment. Equipment manufacturers refuse access or charge exorbitant prices for technical advisor software needed to troubleshoot equipment. CONTINUED ON PAGE
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