Over the next several days, the committee will hear from a number of White House, US Department of Agriculture and Capitol Hill staff to ensure members have a broader working knowledge of current legislative issues as they revise NFU’s organisational policy.

“The Policy Committee members play a vital role in carrying on the tradition of grassroots policy formation in our organization,“ said NFU President Roger Johnson.

“The committee is tasked with reviewing our current policies and offering changes and additions for the delegates to vote on at our upcoming convention. This policy is what we will advocate for during the course of the next year.“

“Since Congress has not yet passed a five-year farm bill, the committee and convention delegates have another opportunity to have their voices and priorities heard,“ said Mr Johnson. “The policy will undoubtedly be focused heavily on that important piece of legislation and ensuring certainty for US family farmers and ranchers.“

This week is the first part of a two-step process. The second part of the process will take place in March during NFU’s convention. During the convention, any Farmers Union member may propose changes to the policy.

The committee then considers those proposals and submits a final copy of the suggested policy to the state delegates at the convention for their consideration, amendment and adoption.

This year’s committee is comprised of Jeff Eschmeyer of Ohio (chairman), George Davis of California, Tom Wingfield of Colorado (representing Rocky Mountain Farmers Union), Daniel Truelove of Illinois, Mary Howell of Kansas, Tim Velde of Minnesota, Ronda Throener of North Dakota, and Kent McAninch of Oklahoma.

The committee members are all outstanding leaders in their state/regional Farmers Union organisations and were nominated by their respective state’s president to serve on the committee.

NFU’s 111th Anniversary Convention will take place on March 2 to 5, in Springfield, Mass. Visit www.nfu.org/convention for more details.