Agricultural advocacy took center stage on Capitol Hill during the Washington Legislative Conference (WLC) March 7-10, as passion and patriotism sent 140 Alabama Farmers Federation members to Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
It was Chambers County farmer Jason McKay\u2019s first WLC. He\u2019s a partner in RL&M Cattle and RL&M Ag Services in Cusseta.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great experience to meet congressional leaders and share the items of interest that are important to farmers across the state,\u201d said McKay, who serves as Chambers County Farmers Federation president. \u201cIt was eye-opening to see the full operation of Washington, D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n
McKay was joined by his daughter, Claire, a 15-year-old student at Lee Scott Academy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was proud for Claire to be there and meet with congressional staff at her age,\u201d McKay said. \u201cShe came back with a new perspective of Alfa and saw firsthand how important the Federation is in D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alabama farmers welcomed U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., during the opening dinner March 7, where conversation centered on the farm bill<\/p>\n
\u201cA farm bill is about creating a safety net so we can raise the food and fiber we need and meet our own needs,\u201d said Lucas, the longest-serving member of the House Agriculture Committee. \u201cThere will be another farm bill because agriculture is fundamentally one of the most important things we do in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville, both of Alabama, met with members addressing concerns and questions. Britt and Tuberville said they were eager to be with fellow Alabamians and received standing ovations from Federation members.<\/p>\n
Britt began her remarks with an emotional \u201cthank you\u201d to Alabama farmers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would not be standing up here as your U.S. Senator without each and every one of you,\u201d Britt said. \u201cYour willingness to give me a chance and listen made all of the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tuberville reiterated his appreciation for Federation members and their work. He spoke about the 2023 Farm Bill and underscored its importance to farm profitability and potential to save family farms.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the start of my journey in the U.S. Senate, I told Federation President Jimmy Parnell we need a representative on the ag committee,\u201d said Tuberville, who now serves on the Senate\u2019s agricultural governing body. \u201cWe are going to fight, and we are going to fight to win because we must have farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attendees also received farm bill briefings from American Farm Bureau Federation and National Republican Senatorial Committee staff. As farmers crisscrossed the capital, they met with the National Cattlemen\u2019s Beef Association, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and U.S. Grain Council to talk about inputs and inflation.<\/p>\n
During one small group meeting, McKay met with U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is one that is for the farmers and behind the farm bill,\u201d McKay said. \u201cAs a rancher, I am appreciative that our opinions and concerns of Waters of the United States and the 2023 Farm Bill were heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Federation members also met with six Republican members of Alabama\u2019s Congressional delegation during breakfast meetings \u2014 U.S. Reps. Jerry Carl, Barry Moore, Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Dale Strong and Gary Palmer. West Alabama farmers met with U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., during small group sessions.<\/p>\n
A perennial conference favorite, the Congressional Barbecue packed out American Legion Hall March 8. This time of fellowship and one-on-one conversation with members of Congress and their staffers featured Bishop\u2019s Barbecue from Colbert County and Priester\u2019s Pecans in Lowndes County. U.S. Rep. G.T. Thompson, R-Pa., who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, joined to hear the voices of Alabama farmers, including McKay.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo know that we are being heard in Washington is important,\u201d McKay said. \u201cThe results of that will allow us to continue to do what we love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Written by Maggie Edwards Pictured above: Jackson County farmer Phillip Thompson joined 140 fellow Alabama Farmers Federation members for the Washington Legislative Conference March 7-10 in Washington, D.C. The farm leaders visited Capitol Hill to talk ag policy, issues facing Alabama agriculture and more. During a Congressional Breakfast March 9, farmers met with their respective congressional representatives. Thompson is pictured with U.S. Congressman Dale Strong, R-Alabama, who represents the 5th Congressional District.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Agricultural advocacy took center stage on Capitol Hill during the Washington Legislative Conference (WLC) March 7-10, as passion and patriotism sent 140 Alabama Farmers Federation members to Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-front-page-showcase"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10440"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10451,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10440\/revisions\/10451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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