January 2019 - 38

AG LABOR REVIEW
Holding elected officials accountable key to progress
MICHAEL MARSH
President & CEO
National Council of
Agricultural Employers
Michael@ncaeonline.org
included midterm results through that
morning, and disclosed that Democrats
would be holding the gavels in the
House of Representatives for the 116th
Congress, I received a question from
one of the ranchers in the audience.
" Won't the change in the House
Two days after the 2018 midterm
elections, I was speaking with a
group of ranchers at a meeting. After
I concluded my presentation that
only result in more gridlock in
Washington, D.C.? " I was asked.
This was a good question, to be sure.
It was one that I had been asking myself
since election results started coming
in Nov. 6. It's also a question I've
continued to ponder since that time.
I responded by saying that as
someone who has spent most of my
life working for farmers and ranchers,
I'm an optimist by nature. This
optimism reflects the perspective of
the people I work with.
Every year, despite all the risks -
unpredictable cold, rain, heat, snow,
pests, input costs, labor and unstable
markets - people in agriculture plant
and nurture their crops, breed and
raise their livestock and know, in their
hearts, that the harvest is going to be
a good one. How could they not?
I continued my response in a couple
other ways.
I suggested I was optimistic because
agriculture has an opportunity,
with such a large crop of incoming
freshman joining the Congress, to
make a difference helping them
understand that food doesn't just
magically appear at the store. The
path food takes to get to consumers
starts with American farmers and
ranchers with skin in the game betting
their family legacies that they will
successfully navigate the risks I had
previously mentioned and deliver
the safest and most nutritious food
available to mankind. And they deliver
it at prices U.S. consumers can afford.
I encouraged the
audience to raise
their expectations
and communicate
clearly to each of their
members of Congress
that America
deserves better and
that we're watching.
I also noted that we have the
chance to explain that the women
and men who toil long hours in this
risky business are some of the best
our nation has ever known. They are
stewards who strive daily to be the
best in the world at what they do and
epitomize those heroes and heroines
Teddy Roosevelt touted in his " The
Man in the Arena " speech over a
hundred years ago.
I mentioned that the rancher
For more than eighty years, Enza Zaden has
operated as a family business, nurturing
partnerships with growers who share our
commitment to quality and innovation.
Through our research stations in the U.S.
and around the globe, we are continually
strengthening our breeding programs
with powerful resistances, enhanced postharvest
care, and an exciting pipeline of
robust varieties for future commercialization.
Entrepreneurism, vision and meticulous
breeding techniques have established
our industry leadership. Solutions that
consistently reflect grower needs and
consumer market trends fortify the tradition.
We are proud to be your hands-on
breeder partner. Together, we realize
the next vegetable generation.
and his friends had a role to play in
this effort as well. I encouraged the
audience to raise their expectations and
communicate clearly to each of their
members of Congress that America
deserves better and that we're watching.
I urged them to let their elected officials
know they will be held to account if
they refuse to find ways to work with
one another to move us ahead.
Because, I explained, it's been my
experience that people live up, or they
live down, to the expectations we set
for them.
One final point I made was that
enzazaden.us
38 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
timely taking advantage of this
opportunity to make a difference
and have a hand in molding a less
gridlocked Washington, D.C. was
an imperative. Those who desire the
status quo, will doubtless push back.
The rancher thanked me and
shared, " To tell you the truth, I feel
more optimistic now, too! " VGN
http://www.enzazaden.us http://www.VegetableGrowersNews.com
January 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2019
