Farmers Rally for Farm Bill Passage

Speakers, Endorsers of Rally for Farm Bill Passage Announced 

WASHINGTON (Sept. 10, 2012) – Members of National Farmers Union will be on hand at the “Farm Bill Now!” rally as legislative representatives, agricultural leaders and hundreds of farmers and ranchers come together in chorus on U.S. Capitol grounds Sept. 12 to encourage Congress to pass a new, comprehensive, five-year farm bill before current farm programs expire at the end of September. “The sheer magnitude of the diversified support for this rally is a testament that, while we may all have wide-ranging and oftentimes divergent policy priorities, our primary policy at this critical moment in time is to see a complete, five-year farm bill passed into law by the end of September. I’m hopeful that our unified voice gets heard by Congress loudly and clearly at Wednesday’s rally,” said NFU President Roger Johnson.

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The “Farm Bill Now!” rally, which will take place at Union Square in front of the Capitol Reflecting Pond, will feature members from the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives addressing the crowd, as well as leaders from a broad range of farm, conservation, energy, consumer and nutrition organizations.

Legislative members slated to speak at the rally include Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chairwoman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee; Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture; and Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.

Johnson will serve as a master of ceremonies alongside Bob Stallman, president of American Farm Bureau Federation, for the event. The organizations represent the nation’s two largest general farm groups.

Organizational speakers will include Fred Yoder, representative of 25x’25; Daren Coppock, president and CEO of Agricultural Retailers Association; Ambassador Tony P. Hall, executive director of Alliance to End Hunger; Bob Stallman, president of American Farm Bureau Federation; Jon Scholl, president of American Farmland Trust; Steve Wellman, president of American Soybean Association; Gene Schmidt, president of National Association of Conservation Districts; Bing Von Bergen, first vice president of National Association of Wheat Growers; an elected county official representing National Association of Counties; Sally Greenberg, executive director of National Consumers League; Garry Niemeyer, president of National Corn Growers Association; Roger Johnson, president of National Farmers Union; Ken Nobis, president of Michigan Milk Producers Association; Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy.

The event has been endorsed by more than 80 organizations representing a broad range of associations and coalitions representing commodity crops, livestock, dairy, specialty crops, state and local governments, minor crops, energy and biobased product groups, farm cooperatives and financial groups.

For more information on efforts to raise awareness of the plight of the farm bill, please visit www.FarmBillNow.com.

National Farmers Union has been working since 1902 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and rural communities through advocating grassroots-driven policy positions adopted by its membership.