Imagine owning the perfect farm, perfect home, perfect pasture, and outstanding prosperous crops. What about when it floods, or there is a fire? Suddenly everything changes. You no longer have that perfect farm. You may no longer even have you home, much less a means to provide for yourself and your family. Who is supposed to protect you then and everything you had?
The answer is simple: Farm Bureau.
Farm Bureau is the world’s largest general farm organization, and the voice of agriculture. Most people would think however that Farm Bureau can’t be that big, but Farm Bureau actually has over six million member families across the country and in Puerto Rico. Statistics show that three out of every four people involved in a farm organization actually belong to Farm Bureau. One of the main reasons so many people want to be a part of Farm Bureau is because Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization, meaning the members are the voice.
Although most people might think that Farm Bureau just suddenly became a national organization, the Farm Bureau Federation actually started in the state of Missouri. On March 24, 1915, ten county representatives met in Saline County, Missouri, with the goal of protecting the agricultural industry and improving the quality of life for rural Missourians.
In 1919, farmers from thirty states, including Missouri, saw a need. They gathered in Chicago and formed the American Farm Bureau Federation. In 1919, they had one goal, they wanted to speak for themselves with the help of their own national organization. Since 1919, Farm Bureau has operated by a philosophy that states: “analyze the problem of farmers and develop a plan of action for these problems” (Missouri). In the past 94 years, the A...
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...th the Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement contest and The Excellence in Agriculture Award.
Who would have ever thought that an independent and voluntary organization that operates on the local, state, and national level could have such a big impact? Farm Bureau is the organization that protects you, what you own and what you believe in. They are leading the challenge, are you?
Works Cited
"Ag in the Classroom." Missouri Farm Bureau Federation. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.
"Clean Water Act." Farm Bureau Federation. Web. 14 Sept. 2013.
"EPA." Summary of the Clean Water Act. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
"Insurance Credit and Discounts." Farm Bureau Finacial Services. Farm Bureau. Web. 30 Aug. 2013.
"Legislative Issues." Missouri Farm Bureau Federation. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.
"Missouri Farm or Home Insurance- Discounts." Missouri Farm Bureau Federation. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
The Future Farmers of America is an agricultural education group, but reaches much further than agriculture. The FFA remains committed to the individual student, providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education (FFA). Dodge is a supporter and partner of the FFA. Dodge’s goal in 2013 was to raise awareness of the American farmer and raise one million dollars for the FFA (Ram). Dodge even went a step further by naming 2013 “the year of the farmer”. To the American public this seemed quite generous of Dodge. It was generous in the fact that Dodge not only cares about the future of their company, but the future success of young leaders in
The period between 1870 and 1900 was a time to change politics. The country was for once free from war and was united as one nation. However, as these decades passed by, the American farmer found it harder to live comfortably. Crops such as cotton and wheat, once the cash crop of agriculture, were selling at prices so low that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit. Improvements in transportation allowed larger competitors to sell more easily and more cheaply, making it harder for American yeoman farmers to sell their crops. Finally, years of drought in the Midwest and the fall of business in the 1890s devastated the farming community. Most notably, the Populist Party arose to fight what farmers saw as the issues affecting the agricultural community. During the last thirty years of the nineteenth century, many farmers in the United States saw railroads and banking enterprises threaten their way of life; their work to fight these elements eventually led to a change in national politics.
Evidently, during the 1870-1900 period, farmers expressed drastic discontent in which their attitudes and actions had a major impact on national politics. First and foremost, farmers began to feel that their lives were threatened by competition with railroads, monopolies, trusts, currency circulation shortage, and the desire for Mother Nature to destroy their crops. The majority of the people of America were slaves, and monopoly was the master (Document C). Monopolies were dictating the way the agricultural industry functioned as a whole. Additionally, the deflation of prices was particularly crucial, because it put the farmers in a high state of debt. Furthermore, competition was another major contributing factor liable for the farmers’ dissatisfaction.
The period between 1880 and 1900 was a boom time for American Politics. The country was finally free of the threat of war, and many of its citizens were living comfortably. However, as these two decades went by, the American farmer found it harder and harder to live comfortably. Crops such as cotton and wheat, once the sustenance of the agriculture industry, were selling at prices so low that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit off them. Furthermore, improvement in transportation allowed foreign competition to materialize, making it harder for American farmers to dispose of surplus crop. Mother Nature was also showing no mercy with grasshoppers, floods, and major droughts that led to a downward spiral of business that devastated many of the nation’s farmers. As a result of the agricultural depression, numerous farms groups, most notably the Populist Party, arose to fight what the farmers saw as the reasons for the decline in agriculture. During the final twenty years of the nineteenth century, many farmers in the United States saw monopolies and trusts, railroads, and money shortages and the loss in value of silver as threats to their way of life, all of which could be recognized as valid complaints.
Due to the nature of farmers, they were often independent and individualistic and not in any kind of organizations. This hurt them because corporations and processors were frequently involved in trusts and used it to their advantage. Mary E. Lease talks about this in Document C. She basically says that it is time for a change and that we will no longer be abused by banks and the dreaded foreclosure system. So the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry (Grange) was organized in 1867 by Oliver H. Kelley. According to Document G, manufacturing had become the main economic sector. So, the Grange’s goal was to improve the lives of farmers by organizing them through social, educational, and fraternal activities.
The AFBF focuses on lobbying the legislative branch and is considered one of the most influential agriculture lobbies in the United States. To influence congress and draw the attention of officials, they spend around $100 million a year. (Ball) The AFBF has 22 lobbyists and at least 20 state bureaus have registered lobbyists in Washington. (Shearn) The American Farm Bureau Federation also has influence at the state level through their state bureaus and political action committees. (Ball) Another method the AFBF is utilizing is teaming up with other agriculture groups to promote the #IFarmImmigration Campaign. This campaign focuses on re-energizing the efforts to get immigration reform. Their arguments include the cost of worker shortages, the need for a stable, legal workforce, and the possibility of increased food prices. The campaign is using a study done by Texas A&M that shows about 60% of dairy farms use immigrant laborers, and without immigrant workers, the number of farms would drop and cause an estimated 61% increase in milk price (The Voice). Images of crops rotting on vines and farmers vacating their land are used to show what will happen if nothing is done (Ball). Through social media, traditional media, community events, and videos they will share other studies and stories of
Issues that have been misunderstood or even ignored by the government of the state, are brought and fought back by the Texas Farm Bureau board. The president and director of this union creates every year a list leaders and staff to follow and mark as their priority. Therefore, the issues marked as the most important to agriculture and rural Texas get the deserved attention and problem-solving
"The People's America: Farm Security Administration Photographs." The People's America: Farm Security Administration Photographs. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
As you walk to the other end of the stage and look out into the sea of blue and gold corduroy, you realize this it! This is the moment you’ve worked toward for the last four years. You’ve stayed long hours after school working on you record book, spent grueling hours memorizing speeches, experienced the joy of winning first place at a state CDE contest, and best of all you met so many amazing people and doors were opened to opportunities you never imagined. Finally, after all of your hard work, you’re receiving your State FFA Degree! All of this from making one simple decision your freshman year of high school, signing up for the FFA. What you didn’t realize at the time was that this wonderful organization would help you build leadership skills and teach life skills that you are going to need in the coming years.
Farmers everywhere in the United States during the late nineteenth century had valid reasons to complaint against the economy because the farmers were constantly being taken advantage of by the railroad companies and banks. All farmers faced similar problems and for one thing, farmers were starting to become a minority within the American society. In the late nineteenth century, industrialization was in the spotlight creating big businesses and capitals. The success of industrialization put agriculture and farmers on the down low, allowing the corporations to overtake the farmers. Since the government itself; such as the Republican Party was also pro-business during this time, they could have cared less about the farmers.
The National Farm Association was co-founded by Cesar Chavez and Gil Padilla. The main purpose of this association was to seek and enforce Mexican-American labor laws. Such as reasonable work hours and pay an individual receives. To get their message across, many formed marches, boycotts, and strikes. With these forms of expression, people started to hear the voices of those wanting a change in El Movimiento.
...o. “The Great Agricultural Transition: Crisis, Change, and Social Consequence of the Twentieth Century US Farming”. Annual Review of Sociology 27 (2001): 103-124.
Agricultural subsidies is a very complex and controversial economic topic today. It will continue to be a hot topic as government continues it. It is largely debated in the United States as well as in other countries. The reason it is so largely debated is because it literally have an effect on the entire world market. Not to mention that the farm has been booming the last 5 to 10 years. This topic also tends to draw strong opinions in our area in particular due to the large agricultural community in our region. However, even within different states there are many supporters as well as opponents to these government subsidies.
Monsanto is one of the biggest companies behind genetic food engineering and for years have been able to sell their crops to farmers of all kinds around the world. Today they have over twenty products, which can be bought from their website anywhere from Roundup Ready to genetically modified corn and soybeans. They claim to “help farmers grow a sustainable crop so they can be successful, produce healthier foods, increase the fiber in animal feeds, while also reducing agriculture's impact on our environment”. Their home page is brightly colored, depicts happy farmers and promises to end world hunger. It tells the government and public what they want to hear not what they need to hear.
In the movie “Food Inc” we saw how the food industry keeps their farmers under their control. Food incorporation sets new protocols that require the farmers to keep purchasing more on dept. As a result of loans and only $18,000 annually (Kenner) they are stuck in a hole that they can’t get out of. I find many things disturbing about this. First off, I find it disturbing that he picked a poorly educated farming area. It seems obvious that the farmers don’t know what they got into and don’t have any knownldge of how to get out. I find it an example of poor unionization within the small farmers that are to be blamed not the ones that find out how to exploit it (Kenner).