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Montanans Help Bridge Rural, D.C. Divide

Montanans Help Bridge Rural, D.C. Divide
Peerless rancher Tammi Fladager, along with other Montana Farmers Union members and leaders, attended National Farmers Union’s Legislative Fly-In, where they advocated for family farms and ranches, heard from leaders, and met with members of Congress. Pictured back L to R are: April Martin, Eric Wickens, John Wicks, Wal-
Montanans Help Bridge Rural, D.C. Divide
Peerless rancher Tammi Fladager, along with other Montana Farmers Union members and leaders, attended National Farmers Union’s Legislative Fly-In, where they advocated for family farms and ranches, heard from leaders, and met with members of Congress. Pictured back L to R are: April Martin, Eric Wickens, John Wicks, Wal-
by Tammi Fladager

In early September, I was honored to be asked to participate in a Fly-In to Washington, D.C., on behalf of Montana Farmers Union with the mission of advocating for Montana’s farmers and ranchers.

Fourteen people made the voyage from Montana to join other states for a total of approximately 300 Farmers Union members from across the Nation. Our united message was to get the Farm Bill passed, but individually, we were able to speak to matters that were near and dear to our hearts.

On Monday, September 9, the entire group met at the USDA office building and heard remarks from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. He spoke about the need for two systems in the United States for Ag as the current system benefits the smallest number of producers who are the biggest producers (minimum of $350,000 of sales a year). The largest number of producers actually are the ones who sell less than $350,000 a year but do not receive the same support as the corporate farms who get most of the funding. In other words, most of the farmers in the United States are considered small farmers but get a much smaller share.

We also heard from FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux and the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres-Small. That afternoon, we heard from the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, who is an absolute fireball on a path to create fairness in the market and really look at anti-competitive practi...

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