A question often asked by farmers and ranchers who are not members:
“What does the Farm Bureau do for me?”
The Farm Bureau is a grass roots organization that serves its members in several important ways. For more than 100 years, Washington Farm Bureau has been advocating for farmers and ranchers.
Between County, State and the American Farm Bureau. legislative and administrative issues are covered from local governments to state and federal. The Farm Bureau utilizes Action Alerts sent via emails and other means to our members. These alerts contain information about current issues and suggested actions for members to undertake if they chose. Every member adds voice and weight to our message.
By any metric, farming and ranching in the State of Washington is getting more complicated, thanks in no small part to people at all levels of government who are not connected to agriculture making far reaching decisions that affect our industry. This past session (2023) there were an unprecedented 2,000 plus filed bills (500+ passed) in Olympia. At least 70 of those filed bills directly affected Agriculture but that does not account for many of those other bills that while they did not affect your immediate bottom line still having the potential of impacts such as the overall growth of government or even the quality of life of our members (public safety for example).
Adding your voice helps the Farm Bureau advocate for you as a member. Importantly, the Farm Bureau is also very supportive in getting your voice heard! There are a number of ways this accomplished, whether it is at the annual state convention and the educational activities there or other meetings during the year. The biggest opportunity though is through “Legislative Days” which is when interested legislators meet with FB members in an informal setting.
There are times when litigation becomes necessary and both County Farm Bureaus and the Washington State Farm Bureau have been in court advocating for justice for it’s members regarding different issues.
The Yakima County Farm Bureau actually prevailed in a lawsuit against Futurewise a few years ago.
Besides advocacy, there are several additional benefits to becoming a Farm Bureau member.