Ag News
Farm Bureau honors Rep. Bishop with Golden Plow Award
Posted on Aug 05, 2020 at 0:00 AM
The American Farm Bureau Federation presented U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga. 2nd Dist., with its Golden Plow Award during a ceremony at the Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) office in Macon Aug. 4. This award is the highest honor AFBF gives to sitting members of Congress in recognition of recipients’ representation of farmers and ranchers.
“Congressman Bishop is a strong advocate and friend of farmers across Georgia and across America,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. Throughout his career, Bishop has worked across the aisle to address the broken H-2A visa program, repeal the death tax, and broaden global market access for farmers, Duvall noted. “He is the rare statesman who places the people he serves first, and Farm Bureau is grateful for his service to American agriculture.”
GFB nominated Bishop for the award because of his exemplary work on behalf of U.S. agriculture and his commitment to addressing the needs of his constituent farmers in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District and their counterparts across the nation. Bishop’s district includes Baker, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Macon, Marion, Miller, Mitchell, Peach, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Terrell and Webster counties. Portions of Bibb and Muscogee counties are also part of the district.
“Without the leadership of members like Congressman Bishop, American agriculture would be in a far worse position in Washington, D.C., and the increasingly interconnected world in which our farmers compete,” Georgia Farm Bureau President Gerald Long said. “Georgia’s farmers are fortunate to have Congressman Bishop serving in the nation’s capital.”
Long praised Bishop for his efforts to help the 2nd District recover from Hurricane Michael by working with a bipartisan coalition of Georgia officials to secure disaster aid for Georgia farmers and rural residents who sustained damage in the 2018 storm. Long also thanked Bishop for his efforts to help secure the workers farmers needed to harvest their produce this year.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by the American Farm Bureau and Georgia Farm Bureau’s decision to give me the Golden Plow Award. It has been my privilege to serve the farmers and ranchers who work hard to provide quality, economical food, fiber, and fuel for American families,” Rep. Bishop said. “Because of the American and Georgian Farm Bureaus, we have been able to work together to keep American agriculture the best in the world.”
Bishop is a long-time member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and chairs the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies. He was first elected to Congress in 1992 and is the senior member of Georgia’s U.S. Congressional delegation.
AFBF presents the Golden Plow Award annually. Recipients are chosen for having a philosophy or record that demonstrates a commitment to sound agricultural policies supported by Farm Bureau, the private enterprise system, fiscal conservatism and reduced federal regulation of businesses and individuals.
In nominating Bishop for the award, GFB said the congressman has prioritized “what the farmers need” from disaster relief to agriculture research funding, since his early days in Washington and been a leader on a range of issues including labor reform, taxation, trade, and farm bill implementation.
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