County leaders attend GFB Presidents' Conference

Wayne Co. FB President Danny McDonald (L) accepts a door prize of a three-night stay at either a Choice Hotel in New York City or the Bahamas, along with airfare and a cash prize of $450, courtesy of Choice Hotels® and GFB.

County Farm Bureau presidents and county leaders from across the state met at the Georgia Agricenter in Perry, Jan. 29, to attend the annual Georgia Farm Bureau Presidents' Conference.

Agricenter Chief Operating Officer Randy Moore welcomed the organization to the state facility and thanked the organization for supporting the numerous livestock events held at the Agricenter. Moore said the facility has had a $1 billion economic impact on the state of Georgia since opening in 1990.
GFB President Zippy Duvall opened the event by giving the county Farm Bureau leaders a status update on the organization's federation activities and insurance companies.
“In 2007 Georgia Farm Bureau was the voice of agriculture. We played an important part in some critical issues facing Georgia farmers such as the state water plan and the farm bill. Even though the General Assembly has approved the state water plan that we supported, the battle over state water issues is only one-third of the way over,” Duvall said. “Now it's important that we get our farmers on the regional water councils that will be appointed under the new plan because these councils will determine the details of future water decisions.”
Duvall said the organization will continue to monitor the progress of the farm bill and advocate the need farmers have for the safety net it provides. “Just because commodity prices are good doesn't mean everything is good. We're going to make sure people start talking about the rising input costs farmers are facing.” Additionally, Duvall said the organization was making tax and immigration reform priority issues for 2008.
During a conference workshop on legislative issues, American Farm Bureau staffer Tara Smith said the statement President Bush made in his State of the Union speech about vetoing anything that includes a tax increase was a reference to the farm bill.
“Both the House and Senate versions of the farm bill have funding mechanisms that include tax provisions dealing with foreign corporations the administration opposes,” Smith said. “American Farm Bureau unanimously passed a resolution at the annual convention in New Orleans requesting that President Bush sign whatever farm bill legislation the House and Senate conference committee approves.”
In a workshop on generating excitement for county programs, presidents from the 2007 top five county Farm Bureau chapters (Crawford, Cherokee, Greene, Jasper and Newton) gave presentations outlining their successful Ag in the Classroom, Young Farmer, Legislative, and Women's Committee activities. Conference attendees also received information on how to document federation activities that carry out the organization's purpose.
To promote GFB's partnership with Choice Hotels, all Farm Bureau members attending the conference were entered for a door prize of a three-night stay at either a Choice Hotel in New York City or the Bahamas, along with airfare and a cash prize of $450. Wayne County Farm Bureau President Danny McDonald won the prize sponsored by Choice Hotels and GFB.