The strength of Farm Bureau is in our members and what they do. Farm Bureau members are farmers, ranchers, agri-business men and women, and people interested in agriculture, their food supply, and protecting their Constitutional Rights, especially private property rights. Our members and staff make this organization the powerful force that it is. The actions we take individually as well as the actions we take as an organization help keep American agriculture viable and secure. However, our work benefits more people than just our members.

Farm Bureau has been active in New Mexico since 1917. The first county Farm Bureau in our state was formed in Doña Ana County ninety-three years ago. Farm Bureau came about as a way to help protect farmers and ranchers and improve their methods of growing our nation's food and fiber. Today, we exist for the same reasons. However, it seems the problems facing agriculture are more difficult to address now than in the past and that is in part due to the fact that farmers are only a small percentage of our population. Today, it's rare to find someone in a city that will say their parents or grandparents were farmers. Unfortunately, that separation from the land and food production, coupled with the fact that food is plentiful, means very few people actually take time to think about where their dinner came from and what it took to get it to their plate.

So as we evolve into a society people that are more and more dependent upon someone else to produce their food, those people not involved in agriculture have tended to become apathetic about who, where, and what it takes to produce food. That lack of understanding about food production has led people to make decisions that are counterproductive to maintaining agriculture.

It is encouraging that surveys show those not involved in agriculture have a positive perception of farmers and ranchers. What we in agriculture must do is work to maintain that positive feeling about farmers and ranchers and further educate the general public about what we do to deliver to them the safest and most affordable food in the world.

Delivering the safest and most affordable food in the world takes more than just understanding how to grow plants and animals. We must constantly work to protect the investment we have in our operations and keep us in agriculture. Farm Bureau helps do that by working with policy makers to bring reason to the regulations that they propose.When Farm Bureau works to keep new laws and regulations reasonable for our businesses, often it is not just farmers and ranchers that benefit. When we work on the estate tax laws and have success everyone benefits, because we don't argue just for agriculture. We want everyone's estate tax exemptions raised to allow for more effective generational transfer. When a family works hard to build a business, whether is a farm or not, it is wrong for the government to take it away for the sake of redistribution of wealth.

When Farm Bureau works to keep other taxes down, to suggest ways to lower the deficit, to help improve rural development, to improve habitat, to assist education for a greater understanding of food production, to help with the myriad of other things that touch the lives of our members, much of that is not just for people in Farm Bureau, it is intended to help everyone. As you can see from the subjects listed above, much of what we do affects many more people than just those in agriculture.

So when someone asks you "Why should I belong to Farm Bureau? I'm not a farmer," you should let them know that our foremost concern is protecting the American food supply and if you eat, maybe you should be concerned about that too. We are strong advocates of private property rights. That does not mean just farms and ranches, that means all private property. We have many members that own property who are not farmers or ranchers, but when work to protect private property, we are also working to protect the private property of everyone, not just members.

Those people that are not members are enjoying the fruits for our work (pun intended). I encourage everyone who is not in ag and has not thought about food production lately, to consider from where food and fiber will come if the American farmer and rancher becomes extinct. Don't wait until your grocery store is empty to start worrying about where your next meal will come from. Start today by learning more about what it takes to produce food for our country...and appreciate those in American agriculture, because they work every day to feed you. They will continue to work for you, because it is not just a job, it's a way of life and they love it. However, if economics, tax laws, labor laws, and environmental regulations become unbearable in the USA, I'm sure there is a dictator somewhere in the world that will be more than willing to provide America with food...for a price.