All posts by Rachael Smith

Women’s Leadership Program State Committee Chairman Duties

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Women’s Committee Handbook

  • Preside over all official FFBF Women’s Leadership Committee meetings.
  • Represent the Women’s Leadership Program on the Florida Farm Bureau State Board of Directors and report women’s activities to the board.
  • Work with Women’s Program coordinator to develop agendas for State Women’s Leadership Committee meetings.
  • Preside at Women’s Annual Business Meeting at Florida Farm Bureau’s Annual Meeting and opening session of annual State Women’s Leadership Conference.
  • Practice established parliamentary procedures in conducting all meetings.
  • Keep informed on current agricultural issues and Florida Farm Bureau Federation Policies and direct this information to committee chairmen.
  • Represent Florida Farm Bureau at meetings/conferences called by American Farm Bureau for state chairmen including the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.
  • Present suggested goals for the year to the committee for discussion and approval. Committee may add or delete goals on the list. She and the committee will plan projects and set goals and objectives at the beginning of each year.
  •  Keep the women informed on what the committee is doing.
  • Strive for peace and harmony within the committee. She is the “neutral” person on the committee and the “peacemaker” if there is dissention within the group.
  • As a delegate to the American Farm Bureau Women’s Session, she will pick up the women’s delegate badges and see that Florida women delegates know where to meet her to receive them. Also make sure the Florida women delegates know where the first function is.
  • She is the head of the Florida Farm Bureau Women’s Delegation and should discuss ahead of time how the delegation wants to vote. She does not have to “block vote”; however, she can agree to disagree.
  • She will give a report at the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting on the activities of the women during the past year (5-10 minutes).
  • Ultimately, she represents the women of Farm Bureau. People judge what she does and says, and that reflects on all the women of Farm Bureau.

State Women’s Committee-Vice Chairman Duties

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Women’s Committee Handbook

  • In the absence of the chairman, the vice chairman assumes the duties of the chairman.
  • Attend annual district planning/training meetings.
  • Attend State Board of Directors meetings every other month. She is a voting member and represents the women of FFBF, not her county. As such, she needs to deliberate and carefully consider the issues when addressing the board.
  • Deliver a short devotional message at the beginning of each State Board of Directors meeting as well as State Women’s Leadership Committee meeting.
  • Assist the chairman in any way you can.
  • Strive for peace and harmony within the State Women’s Leadership Committee. The committee depends upon the vice-chairman and the chairman to set the tone for the committee.

Women’s Leadership Program District Chairman Duties

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Women’s Committee Handbook

  • Be knowledgeable in all aspects of the total Farm Bureau program.
  • Attend all scheduled meetings of the State Women’s Leadership Committee.
  • Determine the annual women’s program of work based on local, state, and national issues and concerns.
  • Conduct annual district planning/training meetings.
  • Contact all county women’s leadership chairmen on a regular basis. It is her responsibility to keep county women informed on issues and events concerning the state program.
  • Keep informed of women’s activities in individual counties and serve as a resource for county committees. Pass information on to State Women’s Leadership Committee.
  • Help surface county leaders for the organization.
  • Attend training sessions for developing skills in committee leadership.
  • Represent the women’s leadership program at district and regional meetings called by Florida Farm Bureau Federation.
  • Support special projects of the Women’s Leadership Program.
  • Assist with planning and implementing the program for the State Women’s Leadership Conference.
  • Publicize State Women’s Leadership Conference and other statewide meetings in individual districts.
  • Plan and implement women’s activities at FFBF Annual Meeting.
  • Participate in American Farm Bureau meetings as needed.

Women’s Leadership Program County Chairman Duties

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Women’s Committee Handbook

The County Women’s Chairman is the vital link between the women in the county, the District Women’s Chairman, and the State Women’s Leadership Committee. She is the spokesperson for her committee and should represent them at Farm Bureau functions. She is responsible to her county Farm Bureau board of directors and to all women in the county. It is encouraged that she be a member of the county board of directors and attend all county board meetings.

  • Encourage the active participation of all Farm Bureau women in the county organization in order to build and strengthen the local Farm Bureau.
  • Encourage the development and participate in state programs that conform to the needs in her county.
  • Attend meetings of the county Farm Bureau board where she should report and/or receive instructions from the board of directors. She then should encourage and direct the women members of the Farm Bureau to follow through on the work of the organization.
  • Encourage local attendance at the FFBF State Women’s Leadership Conference, district meetings, and annual meeting of FFBF.
  • Seek the assistance of their district women’s chairman and state program coordinator when necessary.
  • Report county women’s leadership committee activities to the district women’s leadership committee member.
  • Preside at all business meetings of the county Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee.
  • Prepare an agenda for each meeting.
  • Check with people to whom responsibilities are delegated to see if assignments are being carried out.
  • Evaluate progress.
  • Give recognition.

 

Legislative Process

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Women’s Committee Handbook

The state legislature is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 40 members and is led by the Senate President; the House has 120 members and is led by the Speaker of the House. Both leadership positions are elected by the members of the individual chambers.

The work of the legislature is done in its committees. A committee is a group of legislators chosen by the presiding officer to perform specific functions.

The most familiar are standing committees. Standing committees have a continuing authority to consider matters within their subject field, including bills filed by members of the house. The name of the committee usually describes its policy jurisdiction. The House Agriculture Committee is an example of a standing committee.

After a legislator files a bill, the Speaker or President assigns it to committees. The committees can amend the bill, pass the bill, or reject the bill altogether (also known as killing the bill). After the bill is passed by all its committees of reference, it is sent to the full house for a floor vote.

The full house then votes whether to amend it, pass it, or kill it. If a bill is not voted on by the time session ends, it dies automatically. If a legislator wants to pass a bill that died, he must go through the whole process again the next year.

A bill must be passed by both the Senate and the House in order to become law. That means that there must be a House version and a Senate version for each bill and each version must go through the complete process within its chamber. The House bills are given odd numbers; the Senate, even. After legislative passage, the bill is sent to the governor, who has three options: sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Most bills become law by the third method.

Impacting the Legislative Process

As a Floridian and an active Farm Bureau member, one of your responsibilities is to help elect the legislators who represent you. However, your role in the democratic process does not end at the polls. By sharing your opinions and ideas with your representatives and senators in Tallahassee, you help them decide what to do about the issues and pending legislation that affect us all.

Florida Farm Bureau is active and effective in affecting both elections and the legislative process, and the involvement of members like you is key to Farm Bureau’s success.

Elections

Florida Farm Bureau has established political action committees (PACs) at both the state and federal level that help us work to elect leaders who are friendly to agriculture. Florida FarmPAC is the state level PAC and raises funds through a $2 voluntary contribution that is a part of the membership renewal. FedPAC is the federal PAC and raises funds through direct solicitation of active, non-corporate members.

For both PACs, contributions to candidates begin with requests from County Farm Bureaus. When a County Farm Bureau makes a request, the FFBF board must approve the request before a contribution is made. Many times FFBF staff works with the County Farm Bureaus and the state board to vet the candidates to ensure that they are supportive of Farm Bureau’s legislative goals.

Florida Farm Bureau’s PACs are instrumental in helping elect agriculture-friendly candidates and helping our organization form lasting relationships with elected leaders.

Grassroots efforts by Florida Farm Bureau members are a key part of our legislative success. It is incredibly important for Farm Bureau members to effectively communicate with their elected leaders at the local state and national levels.

Elected officials receive a huge amount of communication from their constituents, lobbyists and others. Unfortunately, their full agendas limit their ability to personally read and respond to it all. How then, can you be sure your voice is heard? Here are some tips to help you get the most impact out of your communications with your elected officials.

General Tips

Know who your elected officials are and how to contact them. If you don’t know who represents you, you can find out by using Farm Bureau’s Legislative Action Center.

Contact your elected officials about a particular issue before the legislature takes action on it. Most matters coming before the legislature are well publicized before session. Keep an eye on your weekly Ag Watch newsletter and The Tallahassee and Washington Reports in the FloridAgriculture magazine for information on our legislative agenda.

Use as personal of a method as you can. Personalized emails, and phone calls are generally more effective than form messages. If you’re able to set up a face-to-face meeting either in the capitol or in their district office, it’s even better.

If you’re e-mailing, please put a clear topic in the subject line, such as “Please Support SB 1712 – Ag Economic Development”. That way your elected official can know at a glance the position you favor.

Tell your elected officials what effect you think a particular bill, if it becomes law, will have on you, your children, business, or community. Be concise, but specific.

Always include where you are from and a bit about yourself to make it personal.

Be polite, even if you disagree strongly with the elected official you are addressing. Lawmakers cannot please everyone. Your communication will be more effective if you are reasonable in your approach.

Offer assistance. Don’t make promises or threats.

Get to know your elected officials and their office staffs. Be willing to work with their aides and establish relationships with them as well as with the lawmakers.

When planning to visit your elected officials, make an appointment. Call or write for an appointment as soon as you know when you are going to be at the capitol.

Plan your call or visit carefully. Keep to the point and don’t wander too far off topic. You’ll have a limited amount of time so organize your thoughts ahead of time and make notes to help you stay on track.

Prepare a one-page fact sheet concerning your issue to give to your legislator. This will help him or her better retain what you present. Ask FFBF staff to assist you. They will typically have this kind of thing prepared for you.

What is FBACT?

The Florida Farm Bureau FBACT grassroots program was established to protect and further agricultural interests through the active participation of Farm Bureau members in government relations activities at the federal, state and local levels.

Advocacy is a powerful – and necessary – tool for implementing Farm Bureau policy at the federal and state levels. Without Farm Bureau grassroots advocates taking action agriculture may not have a voice in Congress. Being an FBACT member means being willing to speak up, speak out and implement your policies. It means being willing to take action and to be “a Voice of Agriculture.” Communicating with lawmakers –through meetings, phone calls, e-mails, etc. – is one major way FBACT members may exercise their constitutional right to speak out.

How does it work?

Farm Bureau members who have provided us with their email address will receive legislative updates and “FBACT Alerts” via e-mail.  When an alert is sent, you will be directed to our Legislative Action Center page where you will complete several easy steps and your message will be sent directly to your elected official. Talking points and/or sample letters included in the alerts will help make this process quick, simple and effective.

How do I get involved?

Please visit the Legislative Action Center and sign up to receive email alerts from us. You will stay up to date with the current legislative action at the state and federal level and receive action alerts when they come out.

Questions? Contact our Legislative Affairs team in Tallahassee at 850.222.2557.

 

Communicating Ag

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Women’s Committee Handbook

As a Farm Bureau leader, you are uniquely qualified to speak on behalf of Florida’s farmers and ranchers. Your peers have asked you to perform this and other duties because of their confidence in you.

In your role as a spokesperson you can make a difference by communicating information to the non-farm public. We hope the suggestions in this document will help you accomplish this important goal. Agriculturists account for 1% of our national population. If you do not speak for yourself and your livelihood, someone outside of production agriculture with a very different agenda may take your place in public discourse.

Under such circumstances the result in either policy formulation or implementation can be disastrous. Given the recurrent problems that have emerged with food safety, for example, your livelihood can be put at an immediate risk if consumers do not receive accurate, reliable information about the responsible, state-of-the-art methods of production adopted by most farmers and ranchers.

Remember that no one is a perfect spokesperson. Everyone makes errors. But you can minimize them as you gain more experience.

Why You Are an Excellent Spokesperson for Agriculture

Nobody knows your farm or ranch better than you do. You are the expert on the natural resources, the production processes and the management skill required to generate a harvest that can sustain you and your family while providing food and fiber for our nation and the world.

According to surveys commissioned by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the general public has a positive opinion of farmers and farm families. This attitude gives you a tremendous advantage in seeking to direct attention to the agriculturist’s perspective on public policy questions. The public is predisposed to give you a fair hearing before you ever start to write or say anything.

The more you serve as a spokesperson, the more frequently news media representatives will contact you when they are working on stories that involve your livelihood. Once a reporter or an editor determines that you offer reliable information and you are willing to make yourself available, you can become a regular news source.

The FFBF Public Relation’s Department provides customized PR workshops to help women be more confident in speaking to the media and being the voice of Florida agriculture. To request a workshop, contact Rachael Smith.

Grants (FFB Women’s Committee Handbook)

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FFB Mini-Grants
The Women’s Leadership Committee provides multiple $250 mini-grants to certified Florida educators who are engaged in classroom instruction at the pre-K to 12th grade levels. The mini-grant program supports agricultural education in the classroom. To apply for the mini-grant, click here.

Ag in the Classroom
Florida Ag in the Classroom was created to help school children and teachers learn about agriculture and where their food comes from. Florida Ag in the Classroom provides school garden grants to help fund agricultural-related projects. For more information, click here.

Ag Talk

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Jack Payne
Jack Payne

[email protected]
@JackPayneIFAS
By Jack Payne

One of the greatest compliments the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences gets is some variety of, “If it weren’t for IFAS, I wouldn’t be in business.” It’s the ultimate endorsement of impact.

It’s not just the testimonial. It’s who it comes from. The experts. You.

Every year we strive to provide more of the know-how that keeps you in business. To do that, we have to make the business case for more funding from the Legislature. We call it “workload” – how much of a funding increase we request to keep up with your needs.

If you’re one of those folks who say you wouldn’t be in business without IFAS, please say it to a legislator. Call, write or even visit Tallahassee if you can. You have a powerful voice. You’re the proof that state dollars are spent effectively.

At a recent meeting of the Florida Agricultural Council, UF/IFAS Research Dean Rob Gilbert updated the group with a sampling of our latest scientific breakthroughs. They include:

  • Dr. Mike Mulvaney at the UF/IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center documenting how cover crops increase soil moisture storage. His results have been used to implement a $75-per-acre cost share program in the Blue Springs area, while increasing farm income by $60 per acre for cotton growers in the western Panhandle.
  • Dr. Johnny Ferrarezi planting 5,440 grapefruit trees across 30 acres at the UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center to evaluate rootstocks and scions to rebuild the region’s grapefruit industry.
  • Research by Drs. Joao Vendramini, Jose Dubeux, and Esteban Rios on a bermudagrass variety with greater early spring forage production than most bermudagrass cultivars with similar nutritive value and persistence. It has promise as way for ranchers to cut their feed bills.You may have your own story of how UF/IFAS science improved your bottom line. Please tell people in Tallahassee about it.We can do more of the kinds of things Dean Gilbert highlighted if we have the resources to do so. Workload not only helps us pay researchers’ salaries, but it contributes to the Extension workforce that delivers UF/IFAS science to your community.

Those Extension needs are extensive. For example, there are about 25 county agent positions on hold because we lack funds, even where counties have approved paying part of those salaries. A workload increase would also allow us to consider adding regional specialized agents in precision agriculture, farm enterprise management and natural resources management.

It depends on state funding. Like cops on the beat or schoolteachers in the classroom, agricultural scientists in the lab, greenhouse, demonstration farm, or experimental grove are public servants.

Because your work is largely hidden from the public – and from legislators – so is ours. Please help us tell the story of how we feed Florida, the nation and the world.

Jack Payne is the University of Florida’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Celebrating Florida Agriculture at the Capitol

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Hundreds of Farm Bureau members from nearly every county in the state descended upon Tallahassee for a full day of advocacy at the state Capitol. They supported and promoted Farm Bureau’s legislative agenda that covered a variety of issues currently affecting our family farms, including everything from maintaining and enhancing Best Management Practices, fire assessments, water policy and other natural resource issues, rights of nature proposals and funding for research and development.

More than 200 Farm Bureau members attended Tuesday morning’s Legislative Briefing Breakfast at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, where they heard from Senate President Bill Galvano, as well as Rep. Paul Renner, Rep. Toby Overdorf, Rep. Bobby Payne and Rep. Rick Roth.

Later that morning, more than 100 members attended a meeting in the House Chamber where they heard from Sen. Ben Albritton, Rep. Chuck Clemons and Rep. Josie Tomkow. These lawmakers all spoke about important agriculture-related issues, legislation they are supporting for the upcoming session and the important role Farm Bureau members and agricultural producers play when they meet with their lawmakers in Tallahassee.

Finally, the day concluded with a successful “Taste of Florida Agriculture” reception in the Capitol Courtyard where Farm Bureau members had the opportunity to interact with more than 40 lawmakers and many legislative aides and staff from the Capitol while they enjoyed sampling a wide variety of Florida-grown foods.

We appreciate the support we received from our members from every corner of the state. Farm Bureau enjoyed a successful day of lobbying in support of our members’ legislative agenda and our state’s agricultural community. Thank you to all the farmers and ranchers, vendors and sponsors who traveled to Tallahassee to advocate in support of agriculture! To view more photos from Florida Farm Bureau Legislative Day,  click here.

Ag Talk

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Jack Payne

By Jack Payne
@JackPayneIFAS
[email protected]

You are always welcome on the University of Florida campus, but I hope you’ll consider coming to visit us this month. You’ll get a look at your future.

We’re bringing some of the best minds in the world here to help us determine how to keep you – and your children and grandchildren – in the food business. We won’t settle this in two days of events. All the more reason to talk about tomorrow today.

The Future of Food Forum on Jan. 15 aims to give us direction on what researchers and farmers should be doing now to bring innovation to Florida fields. International experts will share the podium with Florida producers.

For example, we’ll have a Gates Foundation executive and the Nigeria-based leader of a global tropical agriculture institute sharing the stage with the Farm Bureau’s own Women’s Leadership Committee chair, Sarah Carte. Another panel puts a Hillsborough County strawberry grower together with captains of agribusiness from companies such as Syngenta.

The next day, Jan. 16, the techies are up. We’ll host “Pathways Towards the Next Generation of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Florida.” We’ll explore how we can harness huge amounts of data to improve your crops, as well as what policies we’ll need to make that happen. We’ll assemble the state’s leading water policy experts to hear what needs to happen to keep the taps running on farms even as cities get bigger and thirstier.

I know you’ve got plenty to deal with in the here and now. But if you don’t start considering drones, artificial intelligence, robots and the like, you’ll be competing someday against growers who already are thinking about these things.

One could dismiss this as all talk if we at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences didn’t have the capacity to act on some of the vision that emerges. When we convene experts, we get A-listers. With UF/IFAS, Florida farmers have one of the best R&D shops anywhere on the planet.

You’re going to need it. Your grandparents or great-grandparents fed about 18 people when they ran the farm. Today, you feed 164. You can expect to be feeding even more as we add 2.5 billion more mouths to the planet by mid-century.

I don’t know how much harder you can work to keep up. You’re going to have to work smarter. We can help. Come to these campus events to get a glimpse of what lies ahead.

If you can’t make it, reconnect with the closest UF/IFAS research and education center or Extension office. But start planning for that future now.

Jack Payne is the University of Florida’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.