Why Join the Farm Bureau

Amongst folks I've talked to about food and agriculture issues, the Farm Bureau and 2008's Ohio Issue 2 (overview here on Ballotpedia and here on the League of Women Voters' Smart Voter) both carry decidedly negative connotations.  But, truthfully, I don't deeply understand either.  So, while I've generally formed opinions, if I'm being honest with myself I have to be open to new ideas until I have significantly more knowledge on the subjects.

Doing some shopping this past weekend, we ran into a Northside neighbor - Cynthia Brown.  We struck up a conversation and the Farm Bureau came up, followed by Issue 2.  I thought she had such an interesting perspective that I asked her to share her thoughts about why to join the Farm Bureau and her take on Issue 2.  I think this is very relevant to thoughtful farmers and consumers alike that are interested in building a sustainable food system - and it touches on key issues around organizing, power, and how to make systemic change.  So, without further ado...

There is an old saying that you cannot really change the system from within the system. I believe that most of the time. I do believe, however, that there are exceptions to the rules about almost everything.  The Farm Bureau is one of those things. Every farming member of the Bureau has a vote. That means that if you have a working farm and earn some income from your farm, you can have a vote on all policy issues the Farm Bureau addresses. You can even help select the issues that the Bureau is going to address. So, if you join the Bureau, you can join the policy committee and, at the annual membership meeting, you can vote for or against supporting policies which are then taken to the state and national levels.

The question then becomes, who does the Farm Bureau really represent? At this time, on the national level, it is agribusiness. Why? They have all the money. Why join the Farm Bureau now? At this critical moment in time, when the local movement is really gaining momentum, when urban agriculture is taking hold and garnering a great deal of United States Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) funding, when small, diversified farms are being examined as engines of local commerce, there is strength in numbers. Further, the age of the small farmers, the micro-processor, the urban growers is significantly lower than the traditional agri-business farmers. Add to that, the social media available to the younger generation and the time is really right to pack the house, so to speak.

If every person who grows and sells at small farmers markets and every person looking to find an urban plot to grow food for commerce joined the Farm Bureau, the sheer numbers would change the focus and policies of the organization. There has never been a better time to make your one vote count. And, the organization is completely democratic – one member, one vote. Further, while currently in bed with corporate interests, the Bureau is still on the forefront of agricultural issues. The Bureau membership is constantly updated on potential legislation etc. and many times those issues are still in committee and not even on the floor of the state or national legislature.

Look at issue 2. The Farm Bureau made a presentation to its membership on the need to pass the issue months before the campaign went public, months before the Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA) or any other agency was aware it was really coming. Why was the Farm Bureau for Issue 2? They helped create it. When the Humane Society of the United States passed their ballot initiative in California, they came to the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and told them they were going to pass the same kind of legislation in Ohio. They asked those two agencies to work with them. Both agencies listened, smiled, thanked them for their time and, after the Humane Society left, they decided to do something to stop them.

The question became, “How do you block a ballot initiative?” The correct answer, legally, is with the passage of a constitutional amendment. The answer was correct; the question was wrong. The question should have been, “How can we get the farmers in Ohio to help us defeat this initiative?” The Farm Bureau is the largest lobby in the country and has deeper pockets than big oil. If they had mobilized to get the vote out against the Humane Society rather than mobilizing for a constitutional amendment, the outcome would have been very different. The Humane Society would have learned that all Ohio farmers were opposed to their initiative, not jut the well-oiled Farm Bureau war machine. Of course small farmers are worried that the new commission will be heavily weighted toward agribusiness, and, it will, because the Bureau membership is also weighted that way. To change that, small farmers need to make sure they are represented on that commission. How do they do that? By joining the organization that is helping to form that commission. They need to make sure that the commission fairly represents small, diversified farms. And, in the future, when outside interests try to change how Ohio farmers do things, the entire state can and will speak with one voice. In our world of convoluted politics, there are not many opportunities for the individual to really make a difference. In an organization like the Farm Bureau, time, age and the wave of new ideas, means farmers have that opportunity. The question is will the new generation of small farmers, both urban and rural, take it?

- Cynthia M. Brown

So, what do you think?

Personally, this made me think about how it disappoints me when folks simultaneously say they don't pay attention to politics because all the politicians are the same or because Congress gets nothing done, when really they just don't know (Jay Smooth does an excellent video blog about this).  It's ok to not know, and it's ok to have a take on politics, but you can't have both at the same time.  And so when I look myself in the mirror, I have to say that on the Farm Bureau and Issue 2, I still just don't know.

This is important for folks interested in the Farm Bureau in our tri-state neighbors Kentucky and Indiana too, as well as folks in every state - livestock care boards will make their way to you as well eventually. Finally, a big thank you to Cynthia for putting her ideas out there!  They won't be popular with some folks - Humane Society folks will disagree with the basic premise regarding Issue 2, farmer's with poor experiences with the Farm Bureau may have understandably lost hope, etc.  I hope that there will be a constructive dialogue about this topic though, because this is exactly the kind of thing we want to foster on Amateur Foodies - a place for folks to learn from one another.

Please forward and post this with your networks, and please comment below.