The politically influential American Farm Bureau is preparing to throw its hat into the climate debate, with a new campaign aimed at trammeling congressional efforts to pass cap-and-trade legislation.
A memo to state farm bureau directors, leaked to reporters yesterday, lays out the plans for "grassroots" style protests over the next several months. The campaign will focus on state chapters and their local Senate offices.
"Climate change bills in both the Senate and House will impact our farmers and ranchers, hit America's consumers and impair the economy of our nation," the memo from the group's public relations director, Don Lipton, states. "For the future prosperity of the U.S. economy and American agriculture, climate change legislation must be defeated by Congress."
The Farm Bureau confirmed the authenticity of the memo and said it was not intended to circulate outside the agency.
The "Don't CAP our Future" campaign will center around the baseball-style caps that farmers often wear. The memo instructs members to place "Don't CAP out Future" stickers on hats, sign them and give them to senators attending Farm Bureau meetings or hand deliver the caps to in-state Senate offices.
The memo describes the effort as "a local tactic" and specifies the caps should not be sent to Washington, D.C.
State farm bureaus will receive a "starter kit," including the stickers, by early next month.
Lipton told E&E the campaign comes in response to complaints about the potential climate bill from Farm Bureau members in state and local chapters. He said the emphasis on local campaigning is meant to spread the message where it may be heard more easily. He said it does not preclude other efforts at D.C.-based campaigns that could come in the future.
"We've heard a lot of concern among our state organizations, they are very concerned about this issue, they want to do something," Lipton said. "There is a lot of clutter in Washington, D.C. We do believe the members of Congress are paying attention to where we stand and we want state organizations to come to the forefront and let them know how climate change affects farmers."
The national office has made its position on the climate bill known in testimony in the House and Senate and lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. The hat campaign will give farmers themselves a way to show tangible evidence of their opposition to the bill.
The bureau's campaign includes other tactics beyond the farmer's cap. The memo suggests online petitions, messages to Senate offices and opinion articles in local papers.
The organization also plans to take advantage of its upcoming state meetings, most of which happen from mid-October to December. The memo says the "timing is very beneficial" and recommends banners, booths and resolutions against the climate bill at the meetings.
The Farm Bureau has approved resolutions on climate legislation in the past. Lipton said he expects more resolutions this year -- including some that may be "more emphatic" in declaiming cap-and-trade legislation.
The self-described "national voice of agriculture," the Farm Bureau has chapters in every state. Among agriculture groups, the bureau has has been one of the most strident critics of cap-and-trade proposals in the House and Senate, arguing that it would cost too much for farmers because of potentially higher fertilizer and fuel prices.
The more left-leaning National Farmers Union supported the House bill because of the benefits it could provide for farmers who want to profit from a market for carbon sequestration. Other groups, like the National Corn Growers Association, have remained neutral.
Economic studies have come to a variety of conclusions about how a national cap-and-trade system would affect the bottom line for farmers, and the benefits may depend on the area of the country and what crops or animals a farmer raises. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has argued the benefits to farmers from carbon offset revenues would outweigh the higher costs.
This story was authored by Allison Winter and is posted courtesy of E&E Publishing, LLC/E&E News. To access the E&E News web site, go here.