by Lura Roti

National Farmers Union members from across the country gathered Sept. 9-11 in Washington, D.C., for NFU’s 2024 Fall Legislative Fly-in. And members of the South Dakota Farmers Union made their appearance.

“Our family farmers and ranchers need strong up-to-date agriculture policy to support the important work we do each day on our farms and ranches,” said Doug Sombke, president of South Dakota Farmers Union and a fourth-generation Brown County crop and cattle farmer.

“Not many policymakers grew up on farms or ranches, so it is important that they meet with the farmers and ranchers who do the work and hear our stories, so that they understand why fair and transparent markets are important to us.”

As a grassroots policy organization, South Dakota Farmers Union is also the state’s largest agriculture organization. And during the fly-in, more than 30 of its 18,000 members advocated for a farm bill that will include a competition title to:

“The farm bill guides so many programs that our family farmers and ranchers depend on, and it is outdated. We need policymakers to pass a farm bill that represents our current needs,” Sombke said.

Flying in for agriculture

Throughout the three-day event, family farmers and ranchers met with USDA officials and had one-on-one meetings with policymakers.

OFF THE FARM: Many South Dakota farmers and ranchers took time away from their crops and livestock to advocate for agriculture policy during the event.

“This is our opportunity to share our story, so that policymakers, hopefully, understand how the decisions they make in D.C. impact our lives and livelihoods here in South Dakota,” said Jeff Kippley, who serves as vice president of SDFU, as well as for NFU.

Kippley and his wife, Rachel, operate a cattle and crop farm near Aberdeen, as well as a tax service with his father and sister.

“In the work that I do for our tax business, I see the numbers from a lot of family farms,” Kippley said. “And it’s not just our family farm that needs off-farm income to stay afloat financially, it is the majority of family farms.”

During the event, 41-year-old Jerad Goens, a Clear Lake, S.D., farmer, said market uncertainty is the reason he will be asking congressional leaders to pass a farm bill.

“Risk management programs within the farm bill provide some security, and like most young producers, we don’t have a lot of capital, so we need these safety nets to help us manage weather extremes or market uncertainty,” Goens said.

Goens and his wife, Amanda, raise three young children on their farm. Amanda said she is eager to share their family’s farm story with policymakers. “If they hear our stories and realize we are real people, it will help them understand how the decisions they make impact us in real ways. I am hoping the conversations we have this week encourage them to pass a farm bill.” 

Other SDFU members, besides the Kippleys and Goenses, who attended the fly-in include:

Roti writes for the South Dakota Farmers Union.

Source: South Dakota Farmers Union