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Gredig: From the Fencerow

Oct 23, 2009
A United Voice for Agriculture
 
It’s a label that I use with hesitation, but the farm lobby has become a special interest group. I hesitate because when I think of other organizations that are labeled as special interest groups, it is not always a positive impression.
 
I often hear farmers say that we need to work together – to present a united front when communicating with government and consumers. It makes sense because we all want the same thing – a business environment that allows us to be profitable and sustainable. Logic would suggest that if we all pulled on the same oars, we’d get across the river much faster and more efficiently. But it’s not that easy.
 
The number of farm organizations we’ve created is staggering. Every commodity is represented, and in some cases, we have organizations that represent subsets within a commodity classification. This is fine when the objective is to focus on productivity gains, market discovery and product promotion, but when it comes to effective lobbying, there are too many voices making too much noise. The media has difficulty sorting through it all and governments at all levels are confused by mixed signals.
 
So again, a more united approach to conveying our needs to policy makers would seem to make sense, but the issues work against us. Ethanol and biofuels is a good example. Corn and oilseed producers see ethanol and biofuels as an enormously positive development – new demand that will reset the value for the crops we grow. Food is cheap and taken for granted, but energy is a different kettle of fish. There are detractors, but there is no denying that biofuels with a “greenish tinge” produced domestically and sustainably by farmers has carved a strong toe-hold in North America. This sector may look very different in 10 years, but it’s not going away. As the global economy climbs out of the doldrums, energy prices will rally again and the biofuel sector will become more vibrant.
 
The problem is that not all farmers are supportive of the ethanol and biofuel dream. Many livestock producers see the growth in biofuels as a government supported initiative that is putting them out of business due to drastically higher feed costs. They are not going to march shoulder to shoulder with crop producers to urge for more government support for corn ethanol or soybean oil biodiesel – they don’t see it being in their best interest. And so we have an issue that divides us and precludes a united voice from agriculture.
 
There are many other examples. Some commodity groups that rely on exports advocate for freer trade while others want to protect their domestic markets from imports with protectionist measures. Organic producers are not interested in advocating for more streamlined crop protection/animal health product registration. Large scale labor intensive operations see human resource regulations as a major issue, but this is not a red button topic on smaller farmers where hired help is not required.
 

I think those on the receiving end of messages from agriculture, namely media, consumers and government, would welcome a unified and single voice that represents the best interests of our sector. But I don’t think we are able to provide it. We are not all cut from the same cloth and our interests have diverged. This presents a major challenge. I fear we have created a world where we will be viewed as a series of micro-special interest groups under the umbrella of the larger special interest group called agriculture. In this scenario, we end up competing with each other to have our voices heard. Is there an alternative?

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Peter Gredig

Farms.com

Peter.Gredig@Farms.com

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