Last night, during Commissioner Comments, some of the commissioners shared pieces from the National Association of Counties conference that took place in Washington DC earlier this month.
I had attended an all day seminar with the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and shared some of my notes from the various speakers that day:
*The Greatness of the United States is founded on Ag.
*There are 2800 county farm bureaus in the US and 6 million farm member families. The county level is the core of the Farm Bureau.
*Discussion took place about concerns of solar, wind and data centers chewing up farmland. There are differing views even amongst different bureaus and there must be a regional approach. Loss of farmland = loss of farmers. Farmers drive business and supply businesses.
*Due to a depopulations of chickens, there was discussion of a new approach – offering a vaccine for chickens. Each chicken would need 3 needles – there was an audible gasp in the conference room when that was mentioned.
*With the Make America Healthy Again commitment at the national level, it was mentioned that farmers are the best contributors for health. Farmers mentioned the need to stop stigmatizing milk fat. Encourage consumers to purchase local and fresh fruits, eggs, meat, milk and less processed foods. Utilize farm markets.
*It was stated that there are 2 million farmers left in our country which is 1 million less than federal employees based on the beginning of 2025.
*Broadband was mentioned as a continued high priority– build networks that will last and have a balanced common sense approach on where fiber or satellite is placed.
Part of the day was spent discussing Preserving Farm Country
* A 2001-2016 study called Farms Under Threat – State of the States was discussed. 1 million acres was lost during this time period.
Some factors – #1 Low density residential homes as well as data centers had the biggest impact on farmland reduction. #2 was solar development and 3 was big warehouses.
* Impacts included loss of farm productivity, opportunity for next generations producers and impermanence syndrome.
* Consider building better cities. Incentivize development away from farmland. Farm transfers and land access. Permanent protection measures. Profitability. Community resiliency.
* Smart solar principles – for example, don’t convert farmland to solar or at the very least, don’t use best ag land. Think about using brownfields and warehouse spaces for solar use. Be sure to protect the soil if you place solar there. Engage the community in these types of discussions.
* Farm Transfer/succession planning. Connect retiring farmers with aspiring farmers. Create a PACE program. Support Ag Profitability, tax incentives for farmers, agri-tourism, consider business grants with farm to school. Invest in local food hubs. Build connections such as farmers markets. Develop educational discussions regarding if your community is farm friendly.
I ended with sharing a few Ag quotes:
George Washington
“Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment of man.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.”
Thomas Jefferson
“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals & happiness.”
John F. Kennedy
“The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.”
I’m grateful for our farmers. May we do what we can in our roles to lessen any unnecessary burdens that are put on them.
