WASHINGTON (February 4) – A diverse coalition of agricultural organizations that came together during the 2008 Farm Bill debate under the name Farm Policy Facts announced today that they are stepping up education activities during the 113th Congress.
Those groups, which include the American Sugar Alliance, Minnesota Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Cotton Council, and USA Rice Federation, also announced two new members of the coalition: National Crop Insurance Services and Southwest Council of Agribusinesses.
“The unifying messages we will rally behind, regardless of Farm Bill politics, is the positive role that agriculture has and will continue to play in the economic recovery, the huge return on investment taxpayers see from farm policy and the disproportionate funding cuts that agriculture has already shouldered,” said former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest, who works with the coalition.
Farm Policy Facts will communicate with the media and members of Congress via regular email alerts that will include a mix of farm policy news, detailed analysis and case studies of farm policy in action. Former journalists and legislative experts – including Rene Pastor, a longtime commodities reporter with Reuters, and Tom Sell, a former Hill aide and USDA official and cofounder and managing partner of Combest, Sell & Associates, LLC. – will be regular contributors.
The coalition has also ramped up its existing social media efforts on Facebook and Twitter (@FPFNews), and re-tooled its website, http://fpf.wpengine.com.