Washington – For the third year in a row, our nation’s capital will learn about the U.S. family farmers who produce corn, our nation’s top crop, as part of the Corn Farmers Coalition program that debuts today at Union Station, an important venue for reaching policymakers inside “The Beltway.”
“Even in the 21st Century, corn farming remains a family operation,” said Kansas Corn Commission Chairman Mike Brzon, a farmer from Courtland, Kan. “In many cases, such as mine, this vocation goes back multiple generations. The family farmer growing corn for a hungry world isn’t a myth, but a critical economic engine for our country and it’s important that policy makers and influencers realize this.”
Corn farmers from 14 states and the National Corn Growers Association are supporting the Corn Farmers Coalition program to introduce a foundation of facts seen as essential to decision making, rather than directly influencing legislation and regulation.
“Once again, we’re putting a face on today’s family farmers to showcase the productivity and environmental advances being made in the industry and to provide factual information on how innovative and high-tech corn farmers have become,” said Brzon.
The Corn Farmers Coalition is launching its major advertising campaign today with “station saturation” at Union Station that will put prominent facts about family farmers in Capital Hill publications, radio, frequently used web sites, the Metro and Reagan National Airport. The program will continue until Congress recesses in August.
“Last year, we saw a good response to our positive and proactive efforts, and this year we have many new people inside the Beltway to educate,” said NCGA President Bart Schott, a grower in North Dakota. “As urban and suburban America gets further removed from the agricultural roots that made our nation strong, we’re saying it’s time again for everyone to come home to the farm.”
It’s not just about advertising, Schott noted. The coalition will meet with media, members of Congress, environmental groups and others to talk about farming’s bright future: how U.S. farmers, using the latest technologies, will continue to expand yields and how this productivity can be a bright spot in an otherwise struggling economy.
For more information or to view the CFC ads go: www.cornfarmerscoalition.org