By Jenny Holtermann, President, Kern County Farm Bureau
For a few years now, my family has enjoyed going to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Thousand Oaks. At least once a year, or when there is a new exhibit, we enjoy strolling through the library and museum. We seem to always notice something new or find a previously unnoticed plaque to read. Ronald Reagan has a famous quote that I have become fond of over the years. On one of my recent visits, I purchased a small plaque for my office: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”
Several times in the past, this quote has reminded me that is not always worthwhile for others to know all your battles. There is no need to shout from the rooftops, post all our accomplishments on social media, or boast about all we do.
There are people in this world who do things for praise and for others to notice — they want a pat on the back or credit for accomplishing a task. There are also those who stand by and let others take credit, hoping to fly under the radar and not receive credit even when it is due. Often, we just let things go. It isn’t worth the praise, or we don’t want the limelight. Both positions have plenty of pros and cons.
The Farm Bureau, through the years, has been good at letting things pass. Watching the accomplishments of hard work go unnoticed and just carrying on. This is fine, to some degree. But now, it seems people are beginning to wonder about the worth of the organization. We do this to our own demise.
It can be difficult to measure at times when hard work and long hours entail killing a legislative bill or preventing regulation from happening. How do you know what could have been or the extent of the damage that was avoided? We simply look at situations and think, “It could have been worse.” But when the economy, markets, and pricing are grave, we instead think, “How could it get worse?”
This is where we are today. After years, probably decades, of not taking the credit or announcing the successful “kills” of legislation, our agriculture community is still hurting. How could it be worse? Well, it could. If we didn’t have a team of advocacy lobbyists fighting on behalf of farmers, who would our elected officials hear from all the time? If we didn’t have lawyers and counsel battling for agriculture in tough negotiations, who would be winning all the legal cases? If we didn’t have a farm employer service helping farmers through tight times, who would be there for training and consultation?
The Farm Bureau team is there for us when we don’t even know we need it. If the average farmer knew all the bills, legislation, proposed rates increase, tax hikes, or potential cases that were thought of in Sacramento and beyond, we wouldn’t be so optimistic. Perhaps the Farm Bureau needs to do a better job, letting our members know the battles we win, even before the fight starts. I know the organization that is driving cost savings and value to our farmers. Do you?
