The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
June 18, 2008
Contrary to popular belief, the Center for Rural Affairs does not have staff in Washington DC. In fact, during this entire farm bill process I only visited Washington ONCE, and that was all I needed to confirm a suspicion that I have no interest in returning to that town for work purposes. Ever.
Of course, we work on many issues that are decided in Washington DC, and the personal touch is often needed when dealing with the politicos. We try to have face to face meetings in the districts, but in all honesty there is absolutely no substitute for good DC representation that is willing to go to bat for you 24/7.
Ingeniously, we solve this problem by being a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and they seem to actually work 24/7 out of a tiny Washington office. Which is good, because that means I don't have to.
Ferd Hoefner is the farm bill super-swami, Aimee Witteman holds the whole outfit together, Martha Noble keeps USDA (and others) honest. Recently departed Tazuer Smith provided the realist perspective. Newly added Julie Hudson raises the money. And they had a series of interns that I suspect did most of the work. Notable among them is my main man Zach Baker, who still works with SAC (and OFRF) and Ariane Lotti, now laboring mightily somewhere in an Iowa field (hopefully not underwater).
If you want to know everything going on in the world of federal sustainable agriculture politics and policy, I strongly recommend you sign up for SAC's Weekly Update here. And then give them a donation or at least send a thank-you email, because updates of that quality usually cost mucho dollars, especially in Washington DC.
Anyway, they are incredibly competent, and most of the good things in 2008 Farm Bill are at least partially a result of their hard work. I admire them for many reasons, not least their willingness to live in that town.
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