WASHINGTON – National Farmers Union (NFU) concluded its annual Legislative Fly-In, which brought nearly 250 family farmers and ranchers to Washington for hundreds of meetings with members of Congress and government officials to demand a farm bill that works for family farmers.
“Hundreds of family farmers walked away from their fields and livestock this week because staying silent is no longer an option. 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,” said NFU President Rob Larew. “It’s time for policymakers to step up and deliver real, lasting change that reflects the realities of farming in today’s world and sets farms up for the next generation.”
Over three days, Farmers Union members met with members of Congress, officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the White House, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to share their lived experiences of the economic issues facing farm country.
Farmers Union members collectively visited with every Congressional office to push for a farm bill that works for family farmers—one that updates the safety net to reflect the economic reality farmers face; one that breaks the power of corporate monopolies and strengthens competition; one that includes mandatory country-of-origin labeling; and one that invests in opening more domestic markets and builds demand for American agricultural products.
