Menu

The struggle farmers faced with rain and mud at harvest is comparable to the political challenges they'll face next year, according to OFBF President Bob Peterson. But he hopes the outcome will bring just as many gains.

"This has been a tough, tiring exhausting fall, but it has been rewarding," he said, referring to good yields and even better prices.

Peterson outlined a broad range of issues facing farmers during an address to delegates at OFBF's annual meeting. Topping the list was the 2007 Farm Bill, which Peterson said will be very different from previous farm legislation.

He noted how few Ohio legislators have worked on a farm bill before and that non-agricultural groups will be heavily involved in the debate.

"They are excited about this farm bill in a way they never have been," he said.

Adding to the challenge is disagreement among the various farm sectors about the makeup of the bill.

"We are not united in agriculture by any means," Peterson said.

With the possibility for sustained high corn prices as a result of ethanol production, Peterson said conservation and land use strategies should be reexamined.

"We need to make more land productive land," he said.

Farm Bureau will also have to confront unresolved issues from 2006 such as a failed attempt to reform immigration policy.

"We have to solve this problem this year, so that crops don't go unplanted or unharvested," Peterson said.

Farmers may encounter the ill effects of two victories for animal rights advocates in 2006. A bill to ban the slaughter of horses easily passed in the U.S. House, and it's still unclear whether the Senate will take action. Voters in Arizona outlawed veal and sow crates, making it the second state to do so. Peterson expects a similar proposal to come to Ohio in the future. He said farmers must defend "responsible livestock producers" against an aggressive animal rights agenda.

"Quite frankly, they are more passionate and enthused for this battle than we are," he said of animal rights activists.

Peterson said defending CAUV and the sales tax exemption for agriculture has to be a top priority of farmers in 2007 as some look to alter the programs. Leveraging the Our Ohio brand will help farmers obtain public support, Peterson said.

"We need to get the urban public to make the connection between agriculture and their lives," he said.

He encouraged farmers to take their passion for supporting agriculture back to their counties and to face these challenges as a group.

"To be successful, we in Farm Bureau have to be united on the issues," he said.

Caption: OFBF President Bob Peterson said farmers need to be united to face political challenges in 2007.