National Farmers Union closed its annual Legislative Fly-In last week after bringing nearly 250 family farmers and ranchers to Washington for hundreds of meetings with members of Congress and government officials, the organisation said. Their message was a farm bill that works for family farmers.

Over three days, members met members of Congress and officials from the US Department of Agriculture, the Department of Justice, the White House, the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of the US Trade Representative and the Surface Transportation Board to describe the economic pressures on farm country from their own operations.

Between them the members called on every congressional office, pressing for four things: a safety net updated to the economic reality farmers face; measures that break the power of corporate monopolies and strengthen competition; mandatory country-of-origin labelling; and investment in opening more domestic markets and building demand for American agricultural products.

"Hundreds of family farmers walked away from their fields and livestock this week because staying silent is no longer an option," said NFU president Rob Larew. "Farm policy has been broken for too long, keeping family farmers trapped in a system we didn't create and that cannot be fixed with incremental changes."

Larew said it was time for policymakers to deliver lasting change that reflects the realities of farming today and sets farms up for the next generation. National Farmers Union says it advocates for more than 230,000 American farm families and their communities.

From a National Farmers Union release published by Morning Ag Clips.

Source: Morning Ag Clips