Combs addresses NFU annual conference

By JULIET BRISKIN | Central Texas Edition

Texas Farmers Union President Wes Simms addresses participants of the 100th Annual NFU conference in Irving during the opening ceremonies. -- Staff photos by Briskin

March 7, 2002 -- Connecting America's farms to America's future was the theme of the 100th anniversary convention of the National Farmers Union (NFU) held in Irving March 1-4. The annual convention brought members from across the U.S. to Texas where they kicked off the four-day event with a Tex-Mex welcome dinner and nominated candidates for president of the NFU.

One of the highlights of the opening ceremonies was a visit by Texas Agricultural Commissioner Susan Combs. Combs welcomed the crowd of almost 1,000 farmers and ranchers to Texas and impressed upon them the need to educate urban populations about the role agriculture plays in everyday life.

She began her speech by stating that agriculture is a large but invisible economy. "Only 14 percent of Texans live out in the country," she stated. "How do we tell the urban populations who we are?" According to Combs one way is to go into the urban schools and teach children about agriculture.

Urban citizens need to recognize, according to Combs, that all day long their lives are touched by agriculture. "From dawn to dusk everyone in the U.S. is touched by agriculture," she stated. "From waking up in the morning on cotton sheets to what they eat all day long, agriculture is a part of each person's life."

Combs stated that farmers and ranchers must "blend their voices in a seamless choir to tell the American public that agriculture is going to be what saves this country for the future."

Combs went on to state that Texas is about to loose six to eight rural representatives in the State Legislature. "As Agricultural Commissioner I don't like this," she said. "My point of all this is that we have the best, safest and most reliable food system in the world and not everybody is aware of that."

The safety of our food system is another topic Combs discussed. "The safety of our food system is something everyone should be concerned about," she stated. "What would happen if our food system were under assault? Our farm and ranch economy is absolutely critical to our national defense."

Prior to the various opening night speeches the flags of each state and the U.S. were honored. -- Staff photos by Briskin

She stated that if Americans think the terrorists that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11 are not hoping to disrupt our food supply then "we are not thinking right." Combs went on to state the need of each landowner to know who is on their property and why at any given time.

The dinner wrapped up with nominations for NFU president. The vote, which took place on March 3, resulted in the election of Dave Frederickson. He will serve as president of the NFU for a two-year term. Frederickson said the first priority of his term is getting a good farm bill passed that addresses depressed commodity prices and increasing concentration in agriculture markets.

"Farmers Union has worked hard throughout the House and Senate farm bill process, and we have much more work ahead of us," he stated. "Let's go back to Washington and work for a farm bill so that when you go back into your fields you will know what kind of support you have behind you."

Frederickson is a fourth-generation farmer from Murdock, Minn. and has served as the president of the Minnesota Farmer Union for the past 11 years. Leland Swenson, out-going president, stated he feels confident in "passing the torch" on to Frederickson.