Vote in Support of Agriculture!
As the 2008 election rapidly approaches do you know who you will vote for? Does that candidate support agriculture? What are their views on major industry issues such as trade, the Farm Bill, immigration and labor, estate tax and renewable energy?
The American Farm Bureau strives to keep agriculturalists informed about John McCain and Barack Obama’s perspectives on agriculture. In using FB as a source, I hope this post will provide a factual snapshot of the candidate’s agricultural perspectives for you to utilize as you make a decision for the 2008 presidential election.
John McCain
Trade: “I believe that we need to get our agricultural products into markets all over the world and it will be a great thing for America not to mention our trade deficit…”
Estate Tax: “It’s outrageous that you should not be able to pass on to your children and grandchildren the hard-earned fruits of your labor…”
Agricultural Labor: “We need a temporary worker program associated with tamper-proof biometric documents so that you as an employer will know that that person is a temporary worker in the United States.”
Barack Obama
Farm Bill: “I would have liked to have seen some additional reforms in the bill. I would like to see some tighter payment limits for example, but on balance the bill did a lot more good than bad because it dramatically increased the funding to fight hunger, it increased funding for conservation and it provided farmers with at least some stability in an increasing volatile market…”
Immigration and labor: “My commitment to you, at minimum, is we would have the AgJobs portion of the immigration reform package done, hopefully by that first year.” “I think it is very important for us to recognize that if we are going to have a vital agriculture industry this has to get resolved and I intend to resolve it quickly…”
Renewable energy: “My goal would be to phase in a 2 billion gallon cellulosic ethanol renewable fuel standard into the nation’s fuel supply by 2013.”
To listen to McCain and Obama’s complete comments during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Council of Presidents meeting, click HERE.
Please share your thoughts regarding McCain and Obama’s perspectives on agriculture by clicking on the comments link below.
Alyssa Bane – AFA Marketing and Communications Intern Summer 2008
Posted on July 24th, 2008 by Alyssa
Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
improve results” in every area of your life.
question in an interview, but I wasn’t even sure what I would say if I did. As college students we are required to read lengthy text books and scholarly articles. When we do have free time, the last thing we want to do is read a book… for “fun.” The more I thought about Russ’s question, I began to feel guilty. I have always loved to read, but I suddenly realized that reading, just because I enjoyed it, had stopped when I started college. 
Sandwich every bit of criticism between two thick layers of praise.
all of their names? Any of their names?
AFA is excited to announce their new Campus Ambassador Program which will provide student support for the Campus Champion Program at universities across the country. AFA Campus Ambassadors represent AFA on their respective campus by promoting AFA to faculty, staff and students at their university. They also organize student informational meetings, speak to clubs and organizations, and are a resource to their peers who are interested in personal and professional development opportunities AFA provides. The AFA Campus Ambassadors Program is supported by the Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM).
participating in the Campus Champions Program (IA State, KS State, Mizzou, CO State, Purdue, U of IL, NW MO State, SD State, U of NE Lincoln, OK State and TX A&M) that does not have representation on the Student Advisory Team. It is also essential that candidates have attended at least one track of AFA Leaders Conference and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. 

urgency. Treating everything at top priority is draining and depleting.
No matter where you live in the United States, it has certainly been an interesting year in terms of weather. With nearly 500 tornadoes in the month of May and the annual total climbing to over 1000 (
The possibility of drought is high this year due to the presence of


