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Mar 26, 2024
By Allison Jenkins
ASA Director Alan Meadows (TN) hosted EPA and state pesticide regulators on a farm tour last summer as part of the State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) meeting in West Tennessee. Meadows discussed the Endangered Species Act implementation and ensuring growers have the tools they need to maintain conservation practices and protect their crops from herbicide-resistant weeds.
Farm-to-table took on a whole new meaning for American Soybean Association Director Alan Meadows this past fall.
When he and other members of the ASA executive committee walked into the room to visit with EPA administrators in Washington, D.C., sitting at the table was Jan Matuszko, director of the Environmental Fate and Effects Division within the agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs. Just a few months before, she had been sitting at a table on Meadows’ farm in Halls, Tennessee, where his family hosted a tour for EPA and state pesticide regulators.
“We had an instant connection,” Meadows says. “All of a sudden, I went from being just somebody from an association to the guy whose farm she had recently visited. She knew what I was talking about when I said, ‘the fields around my shop.’ She had laid her eyes on those fields. It gave our entire discussion more credibility.”
Such real-world connections are critical to farmer advocacy efforts, says Christy Seyfert, ASA executive director of government affairs. Whether it is educating regulators and legislators about agricultural issues, promoting American-grown soybeans to foreign trade delegations or enlightening consumers about how their food is produced, these relationships help connect people and policies in meaningful ways.
“We employ a lot of tools to advance policy priorities for soybean growers—lobbying, letter-writing, using social media—but I believe the farmer voice, that grassroots engagement, is the biggest and most effective tool we have,” Seyfert says. “When farmers share their concerns, their interests and their needs, and shape those messages in a way that is meaningful and relevant to policymakers, it truly makes a difference.”
The EPA’s summer visit wasn’t the first time Meadows had hosted a tour of his family farm, but he says it was one of the most impactful, due to the timeliness and gravity of the topics at hand.
“I was focused on the Endangered Species Act and the need to preserve access to crop protection products,” says Meadows, who raises soybeans, corn and winter wheat with his father, Roger. “We talked about the measures we are already taking on our farm and how far we’ve come during the past 30 years in sustainability, pointing out that they can’t fail to take those things into account when coming up with new regulations. I believe getting face to face with EPA and then bringing it full circle later was very beneficial. Ultimately, we’ll see how it all turns out, but I think we did some good.”
ASA Director Jordan Scott hosts an annual Farm to Fork event on his South Dakota operation, where influencers, policymakers, lobbyists, business owners and others gather for dinner and discussion. Jordan farms with his father, Kevin.
For ASA Director Jordan Scott, the “farm-to-table” concept takes on a literal form. For the past three years, Scott has invited a diverse group of influencers, policymakers, lobbyists, business owners and others for an annual dinner and discussion on the South Dakota farm where he and his father, Kevin (who served in recent years as ASA president, among other leader roles on the ASA board), grow soybeans and corn. These events, dubbed “Farm to Fork,” are organized through the South Dakota Soybean Association’s Hungry for Truth initiative.
“We have approximately 200 people here, serve a meal, tour the farm and engage in conversations,” Scott says. “Fewer and fewer people are farmers, but everybody eats. Getting out to a farm, seeing how food is produced and meeting the people who grow it is a big deal.”
Like Meadows, Scott says he finds the relationships formed and cemented during these events pay off when it comes time to promote ASA priorities.
“When I have people such as [U.S. Rep.] Dusty Johnson come out to our farm and then see him later in his D.C. office, I know he can picture my operation and think about how policy decisions might affect farmers like me,” Scott says. “It’s all about building relationships and showing that what we’re doing on our farm is important, especially to our families and our future.”
And that future is important to Scott, who is a multi-generational farmer on both sides of his family. He and his wife, Sam, are raising another generation with their two sons, Lincoln, 4, and Dane, 2. The entire family, including Scott’s five siblings, are usually involved in the farm’s advocacy activities, especially when foreign delegations visit to talk trade.
“Some of the different cultures like to see more than just fields and farm equipment. They want to see how we live—go inside the house, learn about the farm’s history and meet the family,” Scott says. “Those connections help build international relations, and that’s important, especially when you consider 50-60% of our soybeans are exported.”
Drew Peterson hosts Gov. Kristi Noem on his South Dakota farm to view damage from a derecho storm in 2022.
Fellow South Dakotan Drew Peterson describes the Scott family as “pro’s” when it comes to planning farm tours, adding that “they’re wonderful advocates and good friends.” While Peterson personally hasn’t hosted many official delegations, he often has one-on-one interactions with legislators and government officials on the Salem farm where he and his father, Steven, raise soybeans, corn and cattle.
“We tend to get a lot of ‘stop-bys,’ which might happen during pheasant hunting season or a spur-of-the-moment visit on a statewide tour,” Peterson says. “Regardless of whether it is official or unofficial, farm visits are a great way to bring attention to our issues. You don’t have to set the stage, so to speak. The farm itself frames the conversation around our challenges, as well as our successes and hopes for the future.”
Sometimes the visits are under unfortunate circumstances, such as when South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem toured the Peterson farm in 2022 to view the devastation caused by the straight-line winds of a derecho storm.
“She could feel the effects of the damage by being there on the farm,” Peterson says. “It allowed her to walk in our shoes a little bit and really experience what we and so many other farmers were going through.”
As vice president on the South Dakota Soybean Association’s board of directors, the fifth-generation farmer brings a dual perspective to agricultural advocacy, having just spent his first year as state representative for the 19th District. In this role, Peterson says he has learned firsthand about the importance of constituent contacts to influence policy decisions. And he has a precious new incentive to protect the legacy of his family farm. He and his wife, Lauren, welcomed their first child, Michael, in April 2023.
“When elected officials have an issue come across their desks that relates to agriculture, they’re going to think about the farmers they know, and I believe it will impact their decisions,” Peterson says. “I have had senators and representatives quote things to me that they have heard and seen on these farm visits. The memories of those experiences have a lasting impact.”
ASA President Josh Gackle, a North Dakota farmer who worked as a legislative staffer at the national and state levels before returning to the family farm, knows the effectiveness of farm visits by policymakers and legislative staff.
In neighboring North Dakota, the newly installed ASA president, Josh Gackle, also has personal knowledge of how advocacy impacts agriculture from both sides of the spectrum. He worked as a legislative staffer at the national and state levels before returning to the family farm, where he now works alongside his brother, Jordan, and their father, Fred, to produce soybeans, corn, wheat and barley.
“Having worked in D.C., I can tell you there’s nothing more effective than a constituent of an elected official making a phone call, sending an email or making a visit,” Gackle says. “Sure, lobbyists are super effective, and ASA has a great team that works for the American soybean farmer every day, but constituent engagement is one of the most effective ways to get policies enacted. That’s why membership in our state and national organizations is so important.”
In particular, Gackle says he believes farm visits tell the soybean producer’s story better than anything.
“When I was a staffer, I’d travel with my bosses and see the impact those in-person visits have,” he says. “The thing is, they really want to do it, too. They want to get out from behind their desks in D.C. It gives them a sense of what’s actually happening with a real-world, person-to-person connection, which is powerful when it comes to them voting on legislation.”
Such influence can only happen if there are farmers willing to host these visits, points out Meadows. The prospect may seem daunting, he admits, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
“My best advice is to just do it,” Meadows says. “You may not feel like you have the time or energy to do what it takes, but here’s how I look at it: If you’re not out there telling your story, somebody else is going to tell it for you, and they’re probably not going to tell it the way you want it told.”
