western WI | BobJ5 - 10/17/2016 13:56
A Farm Bureau lobbyist that I am friends with (who is a nice guy by the way) acknowledged when asked that virtually every position they support is exactly what large multi-national ag corporations want. I pointed out that many of the things they push for either are neutral for the farmer (at best), or contrary to smaller farmers' interest outright. He pretty much agreed. While Farm Bureau is a "member"-controlled organization, I can assure you that in our state capitol buildings and Congress the average farmers does not factor into their analysis.
To put it bluntly, farmers fund the organization with dues and they take that money to support policies that are leading to ag monopolies, vertical integration, less consumer choice, and ultimately... less of us. You took the words out of my mouth! You can't be for farmers and food processors in the same sentence. They are at odds with one another. "Farm Bureau keeps Bubba down on the farm from realizing who his enemies are." I once read this somewhere. Farm Bureau is all about farmers joining a warm and fuzzy group that makes you feel good, while stabbing you in the back at the same time. |
Farm organizations of past decades fought so farmers survive
