What is Farm Bureau and how does it help farms?

Farm Bureau is a unique organization that is truly grassroots. It is run by its members, from large to small farms, non-organic to organic, representing all commodities. It starts at the county level, where practically every county in America has a county FB. As a member of your county FB, you also become members of New York Farm Bureau (made up of 52 county FB’s) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (made up of 50 state FB’s). Today there are about 6 million member families across the country.

Besides all the great programs that are done at the local level (local ag education, scholarships, social events, helping with local issues, etc.), Farm Bureau’s main mission remains to “serve and protect agriculture”. This is done by our grassroots policy development and implementation process, that all starts with an idea (or resolution) from a local farmer. Any local member can bring forth an idea that can help out his business, reduce regulation or taxes, implement new processes or procedures, whatever it is he or she thinks can help out their bottom line.

These ideas/resolutions are brought to the county FB annual meeting for a vote amongst their peers/fellow members. If passed, that idea then goes to the State Annual Meeting, where delegates from every county in the state, ponder the idea’s merits and then also votes on it. If passed, that idea becomes state FB policy and then can be lobbied on in whatever way is necessary. If the idea has federal implications, it would go on to the American Farm Bureau Annual meeting where delegates from all 50 states would vote on it. It is truly a democratic process and one that requires involvement from the members.

Things that have come out of that on a larger scale and have helped out farmers would be fuel, sales, school and property tax exemptions or abatements (including greenhouses, barns, and ag assessment), NY’s Right to Farm Law, recognition of aquaculture, silvopasturing, Christmas trees, and log-grown mushrooms as ag products (amongst many others), farm wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries, research orders for many commodities, safety improvements, and the list goes on and on.

A great local example is the log-grown mushroom folks across the state. The local growers, here in Schuyler County, approached FB about the many issues they were facing trying to do business in NY. In just the last 2 years, they are now recognized as an ag product (making them eligible for protection and tax relief), can now have their operation insured, and we are now working on getting drying regulations eased for them. These initiatives all started with resolutions introduced at Schuyler FB annual meetings.

All these changes are due to the make-up of the Farm Bureau being real farmers and using their organized voice to get real changes in local, state, and federal government. It is a beautiful thing to see a large dairy farmer supporting a 5-acre vegetable farmer, as we all recognize the bottom line; Everyone needs to eat, and a safe, abundant, home-grown food supply is a matter of national security. FB can’t fix problems we either don’t know about or don’t have a farmer pushing by being involved. Please consider joining the ranks, getting involved and making a difference, www.nyfb.org. We must be united and stick together.