Getting Together to Support Ag

Getting Together to Support Ag. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. About 750 young farmers and ranchers from throughout the country gathered last weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the American Farm Bureau Federation's Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Conference. New chairman Will Gilmer is an Alabama dairy farmer who says the meeting had a lot to offer. GILMER: In college I was around a lot of different people in agriculture and having a good time and when I came back home to rural Lamar county, suddenly there was nobody but my farm, my family and the people I went to church with and not much of a social life going on in Lamar county. But getting involved with farm bureau I could not only be around people that you know shared a similar lifestyle, but at the same time really were willing to put some time and effort in fighting for the things they believed in and fighting to preserve our way of life and our values as well. The Young Farmer and Rancher program is open to men and women between the ages of 18-35. Their annual conference is aimed at developing new leaders for Farm Bureau and U.S. agriculture encouraging participants to stand up and speak out for their industry. GILMER: this day and age it's critical that all farmers engage with the public and keep them knowledgeable of things we're doing on our farms because people really are interested in knowing where their food comes from now and how it's produced and the more we're open and honest and engage them in these conversations, the more peace of mind they'll have about our products, the more they'll want to buy our products and ultimately that's going to strengthen American agriculture. Gilmer says a strong agriculture industry is important to more than just farmers and ranchers. GILMER: We have an abundance in this country and it's critical that we preserve our agriculture so that we never are reliant on food and fiber coming in from other countries. He talks about why it's important for young farmers and ranchers to communicate with consumers. GILMER: There's a huge audience just sitting in the middle trying to form their own opinions and so when we tell our story and talk about the things we do and why we do it, i believe we're being very effective in winning over those in the middle because we are experts at what we do and we can explain exactly why we do what we do and by doing so it enlightens the public and they're willing to put their trust in us. Gilmer talks about why he loves being a dairy farmer. GILMER: It's something about being outdoors and you're providing such a critical service. There's a lot of inner peace that comes with it knowing that you're doing a good thing, that what you do matters. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.