Iowa farms in national Fly-In

This morning farmers from Iowa heard a briefing on the 2012 Farm Bill from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. This briefing marked the beginning of the National Farmers Union Fall Legislative Fly-In.

Three delegates from the Iowa Farmers Union are joining with 250 Farmers Union members in Washington, D.C. for the next two days. The series of events and meetings will take grassroots lobbying efforts to the office of every member of Congress in just two and a half days. Participating members will hear from White House officials, USDA leadership and elected officials from across the country.

The Iowa Farmers Union will be represented at the Fall Fly In by three active members. President Chris Petersen (Clear Lake), Education Chair Aaron Heley-Lehman (Polk City), and Lobbyist Kent Hartwig (Des Moines) will be traveling to Washington, D.C.,  to speak on behalf of Iowa's family farmers.

For Aaron Heley-Lehman, it is important to participate in the Fly In because  “members of Congress need to hear from ordinary farmers.” The Farmers Union does the work legislative advocacy for family farmers best.  Heley-Lehman wants farm policies prioritized to focus on improved farm safety nets and conservation programs as opposed to direct payments.

U.S. farmers meeting face-to-face with policymakers is one of the most important things to be done to ensure the voices of Farmers Union members and family farmers are heard.

As the discussions about the 2012 Farm Bill begin to mount, Farmers Union members and staff will have to continue to drive home the message that we need a strong safety net in order to allow farmers and ranchers to continue in their business of providing an abundant and safe source of food and fuel for the country and world.

IFU members will be advocating for safety nets to protect farmers and ranchers during times of need. When disasters such as flooding strike, we need to ensure that farmers are able to recover quickly so that they can keep producing the safest, most abundant, most affordable food supply in the world.