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Nationwide and Farm Bureau have had a mutually beneficial relationship for 80 years, going back to the insurance company’s founding as part of Ohio Farm Bureau.

Nationwide Chief Executive Officer Jerry Jurgensen said although the OFBF annual meeting is a time to look back at accomplishments, he wanted to talk about the "looking forward aspect of this time of year."

He said both Farm Bureau and Nationwide are equally challenged as they look toward the future. "We have just come through a period of time in Ohio, the political process time of year, that is unprecedented, in my memory" as far as how "rabid the election became."

"Without taking sides….we all have a stake in the outcomes of elections," he said. One of the things he liked to talk about to candidates is that prior to Nov. 7, everything the candidates talked about with respect to what’s important in Ohio was a campaign issue. The candidates could express an opinion, a point of view or an argument. "But on November the 8^th, you own it," regarding the state of the economy, the state of education system and the state of the ag community. "These are no longer campaign issues on which you can take pot shots. These are issues on which you have to do something," he said.

Jurgensen said Ohio Farm Bureau’s political advocacy mission and Nationwide’s mission to improve the lives of the customers it protects are both challenged. "We’ve got legislatures that do not understand our issues, not nearly to the extent they need to craft the kinds of solutions our state and country requires," specifically mentioning the upcoming farm bill.

He placed emphasis on the importance of selling policies and memberships to generate the financial resources necessary for Farm Bureau to continue its work.

"Most of what we read and what informs political leaders is sensationalized from one point of view. It is our collective mission to get people better informed.

"It’s astounding to me, ever since I’ve gotten involved in economic development in central Ohio, how misinformed people are in Ohio about the numbers, about the pure facts of what ag represents to the state of Ohio and its economy. It’s not on the radar screen," he said.

He suggested part of the explanation could be that "It is much more difficult to add up the collective economic consequence of what you do, and all the other industries you support up and down the supply chains. Only in that aggregate view (can) you get a clue how important ag is to the state of Ohio," and to the nation.

He said Farm Bureau and Nationwide will go forward together in 2007, "to tell our respective stories that don’t find their ways to the editorial pages."

Another way Farm Bureau and Nationwide will work together is in the organizations’ efforts to connect with consumers. "To link to consumers, we can only do that to the effect we’re talking to them and not projecting to them from our own point of view." He said if the organizations do the necessary research to understand what’s on consumers’ minds and how they view the issues, it will help the organizations be more successful.

"But to the extent we can get aligned to the people we serve, we will mutually be better off. I look forward to continuing to work with Farm Bureau in pursuit of both of these noble purposes," he concluded.