American Farm Bureau Federation
Encyclopedia
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), commonly referred to as the Farm Bureau, is a nonprofit organization and the largest general farm organization in the United States. The stated mission of AFBF is "working through our grassroots organizations to enhance and strengthen the lives of rural Americans and to build strong, prosperous agricultural communities." AFBF is headquartered in Washington, DC. There are 50 state Farm Bureau affiliates and one in Puerto Rico.
History
The Farm Bureau movement officially started in 1911 when John Barron, a farmer who graduated from Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
worked as an extension agent in Broome County, New York
Broome County, New York
Broome County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,600. It was named in honor of John Broome, who was lieutenant governor in 1806 when Broome County was established. Its county seat is Binghamton, which is also its major city. The current...
. He served as a "Farm Bureau" representative for farmers with the Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
. The effort was financed by the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
and Lackawanna Railroad. The Broome County Farm Bureau was soon separated from the Chamber of Commerce. Other farm bureaus on a county level formed across the country.
In 1914, with the passage of the Smith–Lever Act of 1914, Congress agreed to share with the states the cost of programs for providing what had come to be called "county agents," who furnished farmers information on improved methods of husbandry developed by the agricultural colleges and agricultural experiment stations. Eventually, this practice ceased to exist after anger over government subsidization of agriculture.
Farmers meeting in Saline County, Missouri were the first to form a state-wide Farm Bureau in 1915. The initial Farm Bureaus had a social and educational function furthering the extension service efforts, and they have additionally developed a lobbying presence as well.
The American Farm Bureau was formally created in 1919 in Chicago, Illinois. Its initial organization papers said:
The purpose of Farm Bureau is to make the business of farming more profitable, and the community a more suitable place to live. Farm Bureau should provide an organization in which members may secure the benefits of unified efforts in a way which could never be accomplished through individual effort.
- Statement originally approved by Farm Bureau members in 1920.
The American Farm Bureau Federation relocated its headquarters from Park Ridge, Illinois
Park Ridge, Illinois
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 37,775 people, 14,219 households, and 10,465 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,374.6 people per square mile . There were 14,646 housing units at an average density of 2,083.8 per square mile...
to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 2003. In 2010, AFBF sold the domain FB.com to Facebook for an undisclosed amount.
Each November for the past 26 years, AFBF has reported the results of an informal survey on the average retail cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner, including a 16-pound turkey and all the trimmings. This 2011 average cost was reported to be $49.20.
Insurance
An organization independent of the Farm Bureau called FBL Financial GroupFBL Financial Group
FBL Financial Group, Inc. is a financial services company that sells life insurance and annuity products principally under the consumer brand names Farm Bureau Financial Services and EquiTrust Financial Services through the Midwestern and Western United States with a market niche aimed at farmers...
based in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
sells insurance under the brand names of Farm Bureau Financial Services and EquiTrust Financial Services. It also uses the Farm Bureau logo. In March 2007, it reported assets of $12.6 billion.
Climate change skepticism
The Farm Bureau is skeptical of mainstream scientific opinion on climate changeScientific opinion on climate change
The predominant scientific opinion on climate change is that the Earth is in an ongoing phase of global warming primarily caused by an enhanced greenhouse effect due to the anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases...
, with its official position being that "there is no generally agreed upon scientific assessment of the exact impact or extent of carbon emissions from human activities, their impact on past decades of warming or how they will affect future climate changes." The climate change session at its 2010 national meeting was entitled "Global Warming: A Red Hot Lie?" and featured climate change skeptic
Climate change denial
Climate change denial is a term used to describe organized attempts to downplay, deny or dismiss the scientific consensus on the extent of global warming, its significance, and its connection to human behavior, especially for commercial or ideological reasons...
Christopher C. Horner
Christopher C. Horner
Christopher C. Horner is an attorney in Washington, D.C., a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the author of three books on global warming....
. The Bureau is also opposed to climate change legislation, including the cap and trade measures under consideration in the U.S. Congress, arguing that such measures would increase fuel and fertilizer prices for farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s. At its 2010 national meeting, delegates unanimously approved a resolution that "strongly supports any legislative action that would suspend EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act." The Union of Concerned Scientists
Union of Concerned Scientists
The Union of Concerned Scientists is a nonprofit science advocacy group based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. James J...
sent a letter to the group just prior to its meeting pointing out that its climate change position runs counter to that of every major scientific organization, and urged it to support action on climate on change. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
Tom Vilsack
Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002...
has stated that farmers have more to gain from cap and trade than they stand to lose.
Personnel
- Bob Stallman, President
-
Bob Young , Chief Economist - Mark Maslyn, Executive Director, Public Policy
- Don Lipton, Executive Director, Public Relations
See also
- Arkansas Farm Bureau FederationArkansas Farm Bureau FederationArkansas Farm Bureau Federation , which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009, is a non-profit, grassroots organization dedicated to agricultural advocacy...
- Georgia Farm Bureau FederationGeorgia Farm Bureau FederationThe Georgia Farm Bureau Federation is Georgia's largest and strongest voluntary agricultural organization with nearly 400,000 member families. It is an independent, non-governmental, membership organization...
- Illinois Farm BureauIllinois Farm BureauThe Illinois Farm Bureau is a nonprofit U.S. organization controlled by farmers who join IFB through one of the 96 county farm bureaus in Illinois. The organization's legal name is the Illinois Agricultural Association...
- Kentucky Farm BureauKentucky Farm BureauKentucky Farm Bureau is a voluntary organization of farm families and their allies dedicated to serving as the voice of agriculture by identifying problems, developing solutions and taking actions which will improve net farm income, achieve better economic opportunities and enhance the quality of...
- Louisiana Farm Bureau FederationLouisiana Farm Bureau FederationThe Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation is the state's largest general farm organization representing farmers, ranchers, and rural residents. The organization's provides assistance toward the development and prosperity of Louisiana agriculture. It is a private, non-profit, non-governmental agency...
- Michigan Farm BureauMichigan Farm BureauThe Michigan Farm Bureau was founded on the campus of Michigan State University in 1919. The organization's primary goal is to promote and represent the interests of its agricultural members within the state of Michigan....
- Oklahoma Farm BureauOklahoma Farm BureauThe Oklahoma Farm Bureau is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and representing the interests of farmers and ranchers in Oklahoma and is the largest farm organization in the State...
- Texas Farm BureauTexas Farm BureauTexas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization, represents the interests of agricultural producers and rural communities across Texas as the "Voice of Texas Agriculture." Texas Farm Bureau's grassroots structure begins in local communities across the state of Texas...
- Bluegrass & BackroadsBluegrass & BackroadsKentucky Farm Bureau's Bluegrass & Backroads is a television program produced by and based in Louisville, Kentucky. The half hour program focuses on interesting cultural, historical, and artistic aspects of the Bluegrass State. The program is currently hosted and produced by Robert Shrader and...