NFU Blog

Dan Moore grew up on a family farm, so when it came time for him to choose his career path, farming came quite naturally to him. Deciding to join Illinois Farmers Union at the age of 20 seemed to come almost as naturally as his decision to become a farmer. At the time, there was not a county chapter in Dan’s area, but he knew he wanted to become a part of the organization. He soon chartered the Tri-County chapter where he is currently the president.

“I joined Farmers Union because it is the only organization that helps keep farmers on the farm,” Dan explained. “I knew it was an organization I needed to be a part of.”

Over the years, Dan has stayed very active and involved in the ILFU state organization as well as his local chapter. He currently sits on the state board and served for three terms as the state secretary and treasurer. Dan has also been to several national conventions where he was awarded a Silver Star.

“National conventions are my favorite Farmers Union events because they bring together members from all over the country,” Dan said. “Everyone can meet and discuss their ways of living and farming, which I feel can be very interesting and beneficial in this industry.”

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Boyd Munns grew up in a small ranching community about eighty miles north of Salt Lake City. Today, he lives outside Garland, Utah – about half a mile from where he grew up – with his wife Sally and near his five children. Boyd has spent his whole life, nearly 82 years, in the area, aside from the few years he was in Europe serving America as part of the armed forces during World War II. Boyd’s whole life has been about agriculture, and his hard work and perseverance has passed onto his children and grandchildren.

When I asked Boyd what he does for fun, he simply replied, “I’ve done it my whole life – cultivating the land, raising cattle, breaking horses, hunting, fishing, cowboys, rodeos, spending time with my kids – agriculture is my life, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

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National Farmers Union President Tom Buis today held a media conference call to discuss ongoing farm bill negotiations and other issues of the day. In spite of some technical difficulties that had Buis joking he needed to put more coins in the phone, it was a very interesting discussion.

Buis reiterated NFU’s position that a new farm bill needs to be written - a straight extension or a baseline bill likely won’t be able to muster enough votes to pass. Buis said he’s a confident person and is confident all sides will come to an agreement and pass a farm bill in April.

Buis also discussed the Farmers Union Carbon Credit Program. Nearly 3.5 million acres have been enrolled since the program’s start and there is continued interest across the countryside from producers looking to help solve our environmental challenges.

When asked why she became a part of Farmers Union, Nancy Matheson simply replied, “If you’re a farmer, you belong to Farmers Union.”

At least that’s why she joined with her family as a young girl. While she hasn’t changed her mind about the accuracy of that statement, she has stayed in the organization not because she’s supposed to, but because she believes in the mission and the people involved.

Nancy grew up on a wheat farm outside Conrad, a small farming community in north-central Montana. After college, and many years working in agriculture away from the farm, she returned to try her own hand at farming. She took over a section of the family farm, and survived three years by herself through one of the worst drought periods Montana has seen. During this time Nancy also transitioned the land to organic. She was also still working part-time for an agricultural non-profit and living in Helena, which was a 180 mile commute.

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The third and final day of NFU’s 106th annual convention just ended, and attendees are making their way to a closing reception in a top-floor suite with sweeping views of Las Vegas. Today was all about policy – state delegates and Policy Committee members drafted and adopted NFU’s new policy (see releases on all passed Special Orders of Business and other news here).

Elections were held in the morning and announced after lunch following the 2008 NYAC member presentations. Following the policy adoption, membership awards were given to outstanding members and the two Meritorious Service Award winners were honored. A tribute video (watch here!) was played for Alan Bergman, the now former NFU vice president. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., was unable to make it to convention, but attendees were able to watch a heart-warming video thanking Farmers Union for this prestigious award.

Claudia Svarstad was elected as NFU’s new vice president, and the day wrapped up with Tom Buis and Claudia being sworn into their roles to lead Farmers Union for the next two years.

Thank you to all members who were able to make it to Las Vegas – we had a great, successful convention. For all those unable to make it, we hope you enjoyed staying up-to-date with our blog, and we hope to see you next year in Washington, D.C.!

As day two of our 106th annual convention comes to a close, we have a lot to catch everyone up on! After the risk management panel, USDA Secretary Ed Schafer addressed the attendees and discussed the looming farm bill and the state of agriculture and rural America along with several important issues to Farmers Union members including food safety, trade agreements and renewable energy production. Schafer promised our members to do everything possible in his position at USDA to sign a farm bill into law this year.

The afternoon allowed attendees to hear from experts on three more panels. The first panel was about buying fresh and eating local. On the panel were several farmers who sell their products locally as well as restauranteurs and others who buy local products: Gretel Norgeot, New England Farmers Union; Diana Endicott, Good Natured Family Farms; Larry Yee, Association of Family Farms; Chef Rick Moonen, RM’s Seafood; and Doug Mosel, California Farmers Union. Minnesota Farmers Union President Doug Peterson moderated the panel.

The second panel informed attendees about how to get involved in renewable energy. Brian Jennings with the American Coalition for Ethanol discussed renewable fuel opportunities, specifically ethanol and Lisa Ryan with Alterra Bioenergy discussed ways to become involved with the production of biofuels. Guy Rusche with NFU Service Association told members about wind energy options while Keith Cole of General Motors discussed the ways in which GM is moving forward and improving fuel economies on their cars as well as their developments with flex-fuel and electric vehicles.

The day wrapped up with the presentation of the Milt Hakel Award for Agricultural Communications to John Nichols of the Capital Times in Madison, Wis. Nichols then led a panel on the media’s perspective on the 2008 Farm Bill. The panel featured Chuck Abbott, Reuters; Jerry Hagstrom, National Journal; and Jim Wiesemeyer, Pro Farmer.

Tomorrow we will hold elections and adopt policy, so check back to stay up-to-date!

This morning’s events began with singing led by NFU Education Director Laura Johnston Monchuck and the youth members to energize the crowd (see picture of NFU President Tom Buis with the members of our 2008 NYAC). Officer reports followed – 2007 was a great year for Farmers Union and we’re doing very well in membership, financial status as well as all other areas of the organization.

Officer nominations were then presented for the delegates in attendance. NFU vice president Alan Bergman is stepping down after eight years of service to the organization, and two candidates are running for the position. Larry Breech is in his fourth term as the president of Pennsylvania Farmers Union and Claudia Svarstad, of Frisco, Colo., was a Farmers Union Insurance employee for more than thirty years and currently represents NFU on the board of the Alliance to End Hunger, a position she’s held since 2005 (you can read about these candidates in our Feb. 11 e-newsletter).

Following the morning business, Erik Olsen, president of AARP presented AARP’s “Divided we Fail” campaign and encouraged Farmers Union members to sign onto the petition to push the Administration to improve healthcare for all Americans, particularly those in rural areas.

The morning finished off with a “Competing in Today’s Ag Economy, Risk Management” Panel. There were four panelists including Bob Haney from Rain & Hail Insurance; John Grunewald, Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma; Scott Cordes, Country Hedging; and Ford West, Fertilizer Institute.

USDA Secretary Ed Schafer will be joining us after the break, so check back for more exciting news from Bally’s in Las Vegas!

Over the next three days, we’re going to be updating LIVE right here from Bally’s in Las Vegas, so check back to see what’s happening at this exciting event.

We JUST finished our opening night festivities, and so far the convention is going extremely well, and a lot of amazing people are in attendance. The evening began with a welcome reception for convention attendees, and there were several incredible people gracing our members with their presence including none other than the King himself (see a picture above), Marilynn Monroe and a showgirl from Bally’s famous show Jubilee.

NFU President Tom Buis addressed the convention and discussed the past, present and future of Farmers Union and what the organization will do to Change the Landscape for Rural America (read our press release for this evening’s speakers). Collin Peterson then addressed the crowd via live telephone feed and discussed the farm bill negotiations. Peterson was unfortunately unable to make it to the convention as originally planned, but we are all glad he is in Washington fighting for rural America and family farmers to get a farm bill passed and were grateful that he could join us for a telephone conversation.

Several other Congressional members provided addresses via pre-recorded videos including Sens. Reid, Harkin, Chambliss and Conrad while attendees enjoyed a delicious meal. An NFU Year-in-Review video (watch here!) was the highlight of the end of the evening before a live auction was held to raise money for NFU’s Political Action Committee.

Overall, the evening was busy and fun-filled and Farmers Union members were able to see and hear from great leaders. Tomorrow is looking to provide just as much excitement (if not more) so stay tuned and check back throughout the day as we keep you all updated!