Utah Farm Bureau leadership recently returned from time in Washington, D.C., where they gathered for the annual resolutions committee meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation, prior to its annual convention in Anaheim, California, in January.

While conducting Farm Bureau's public policy business, President ValJay Rigby and Kelly Pehrson, Commissioner for the Utah Department of Agriculture & Food, visited Utah’s congressional delegation and leaders within the USDA and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 

From left to right: Spencer Gibbons (CEO), Terry Camp (VP of Public Policy), ValJay Rigby (President), Brian Nesvik (Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), and Wade Garrett (VP of Advocacy).

“It was a great opportunity to see each other face-to-face and outline things that are going well, as well as challenges our farmers and ranchers are facing in the countryside,” Rigby said. “Besides our congressional visits, USDA Secretary Rollins took all the time we wanted to make sure we felt heard and helped us understand the decision-making taking place at the agency.”

Items of discussion with Utah’s Congressional delegation included trade, public land management, wild horses, and the overall farm economy. During their visit with USDA, Utah Farm Bureau leaders also raised issues related to predator management on public lands, labor, and how the recent announcement of bridge payments would impact Utah’s agricultural community.

“We had sent in several points we wanted to bring up with the USDA, and I was very impressed at how prepared they were to address each one of them,” said Spencer Gibbons, Chief Executive Officer for the Utah Farm Bureau. “It was great to represent all of Utah’s farmers and ranchers in these meetings and to push for issues that are of greatest concern right now. You can see the respect they have for our organization and industry.”

In addition to visiting with Congressional leaders and Trump Administration officials, Rigby, Gibbons, and Public Policy staffers participated in the American Farm Bureau’s Resolutions Committee, where Rigby served as the chair of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Resolutions subcommittee on Natural Resources. The AFBF Resolutions Committee meetings are a continuation of public policy efforts at the Utah Farm Bureau’s own convention, held last month.

President ValJay Rigby (third from left) led the Resolutions Subcommittee on Natural Resources.

Utah Farm Bureau policy is built on these member-approved resolutions. These policies are not laws but are the guiding principles the public policy staff team uses to drive legislation and regulations for our organization.

Resolutions addressing issues of national importance that pass at the state level move forward to the American Farm Bureau Federation. There, the AFBF Resolutions Committee—made up of the presidents of all 50 state Farm Bureaus and Puerto Rico—reviews each proposal. Approved resolutions will now be presented to voting delegates at the upcoming AFBF Annual Meeting in Anaheim. Once adopted, they are added to the national policy book and guide the American Farm Bureau’s advocacy at the national level.

To learn more about Utah Farm Bureau’s grassroots public policy process, click HERE.