Blog

By Laura Demmel, NFU Executive Assistant Americans are so lucky. We have a rich history, painted with images of wise and courageous founders; sacrifices of millions of soldiers fighting for our liberties and our territory; dust-blown, idle farms and starving Americans of the 1930s; happy, comfortable families living the American dream; and countless other pleasant … Read More

By Jeremy Peters, NFU Government Relations Representative Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the much anticipated label for E15.  While the label is a positive step forward, much work remains to make E15 ready for prime time. First, the label itself–a tremendous improvement over previous versions– could be further improved. For example, the … Read More

By Jan Ahlen, NFU Climate and Energy Coordinator The 2011 Renewable Energy Tour kicked off yesterday at the Midwest Dairy Institute in Milbank, S.D. We had a great turnout from local Farmers Union members who were very interested in learning more about diversifying their revenue stream through the production of renewable energy. We heard first … Read More

By Amy Czerniak, NFU Intern Last week was National Pollinator Week, a time to increase awareness about the importance of pollinators, the role they play in agriculture, and how they affect consumers. Thursday brought about the National Pollinator Week briefing and a day full of activities for the intern volunteers helping with the event, including NFU … Read More

After one year, 60,000 comments and reams of press releases later, a rule that would put common sense rules back into the livestock market place still has not been finalized and implemented. NFU members are urged to call the White House this week to ask the Obama Administration implement these rules now. On June 22, … Read More

By Brittany Jablonsky, NFU Government Relations Representative The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently issued its proposed rule to establish a proposed national marketing agreement regulating leafy green vegetables. This rulemaking was the result of a request by the largest players in the leafy greens industry, who petitioned USDA to write … Read More

By Amy Czerniak, NFU Intern Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, and Larry Combest, former Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee, hosted an intern luncheon Tuesday, June 14 in conjunction with The Hand That Feeds Us. I attended with great curiosity about what her message would be for that particular audience: young people … Read More

By Roger Johnson, NFU President In his original designs, Henry Ford believed that American automobiles would run on domestically produced, renewable ethanol. Today, however, Big Oil continues to enjoy $40 billion annually in subsidies and Americans are struggling to pay $4.00 per gallon of gasoline at the pump. Every year, we send $337 billion to … Read More

By Tom Giessel, NFU Historian Farmers Union’s history is rich with colorful characters, amazing achievements, and both humorous and serious stories of endurance and survival. Virtually all Farmers Union organizational, business, legislative and social activities were prefaced and referenced with education.  It is no accident that “Education” takes a prominent place not only in our official … Read More

By Maria Miller, NFU Education Director The men and women who first organized Farmers Union have been called pioneers, visionaries, and leaders, yet they should have been called teachers given their lasting contributions to the organization. Today, Farmers Union is a nationwide advocacy organization representing the interests of family farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and cooperative … Read More