Published: May 07, 2007 03:08 am         

Farm Bureau leaders travel to Washington, D.C.

Leaders of the Hunt County Farm Bureau trekked to the nation's capital in late March to confer with congressional representatives and officials in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Gene and Suzanne Martin of Celeste and members of the Hunt County Farm Bureau were part of the 137 participants in the Texas Farm Bureau's National Affairs Award trip. Local leaders of the state's largest farm organization qualify for the trip by meeting standards of contact with elected officials in seeking implementation of Farm Bureau policy.

"This is a critical year in Congress with a number of issues vital to agriculture and rural Texas," Martin said. "It starts with the Farm Bill due for action this year, and includes disaster assistance, immigration and the regulatory burden on agriculture."

Martin said the Farm Bureau is a non-partisan organization and the goals of the organization are unchanged by the democratic leadership in Washington.

We have four members of the House Agriculture Committee from Texas -- two Democrats and two Republicans -- that's never happened before," he said.

Democrats Nick Lampson and Henry Cuellar serve on the committee along with Republicans Mike Conaway and Randy Neugebauer. Martin said there should be considerable Texas influence on the current Farm Bill debate.

"We'd like for the 2007 Farm Bill to look a lot like the current law," he said. "It's working and all Americans should understand that food security is part of national security."

Local Farm Bureau leaders are also concerned about the supply of agricultural labor, saying that a workable immigration reform package is important for Texas farmers and ranchers.

"Agriculture is many states, including Texas, is in a state of crisis, labor-wise," Martin said. "We must secure our borders and have a workable guest worker program."

The failure of Congress and the Bush administration to secure disaster assistance for the long-running drought was also a topic of discussion.

Posted by Janelle Stecklein