Galen Lee 1

“It seems like whenever you get in the field you are behind and so now we are going strong. There's lots of good moisture in this area which is going to be good for this year. It's going to help.” At Sunnyside Farms in New Plymouth, Idaho, newly elected president of the American Sugar Beet Growers Association, Galen Lee is enjoying spring tractor work preparing 230 acres for sugarbeet planting. He sees 2016 as a year of challenge. "Prices are depressed this year for a lot of crops, a lot of commodities. Sugar beets are holding about the same so it's a good one to look at right now. Of course you have to be a member of the co-op to raise sugar beets. You can't just jump in and out. You are committed every year. That's one bright spot we have this year. Like I say, other commodities are down a little bit. Kind of a tight year in agriculture but through technology and through inefficiencies, we can hold on.” Lee is no stranger to the politics of farming. Along with his current national position he also serves as president of the Nampa Sugarbeet Growers Association and the Payette County Farm Bureau. He also sits on the board of the Idaho Mint Growers Association and the Payette Valley Dairy Herd Improvement Association. “Someone once told me that when it comes to agricultural policy and and programs and that kind of thing, if you're not at the table then you probably are going to be on the menu. You have to make your voice heard. If you want to make a difference in agriculture you can't just sit around and complain about it, you've got to actually get involved and make a difference and help steer things on the course that you want them to be steered in instead of just taking what's thrown at you.”