Hoard’s Dairyman – Representative Relationship

This is my latest post for the Hoard’s Dairyman Blog – HD Notebook

Do you know who your representatives are on the State and Federal level? If your answer to this question is no, do your industry a favor and Google them right now.

My answer to that same question two years ago would have been no as well. Trust me as I say I am probably the last person who would say I wanted to be involved at the legislative level. Through recent leadership programs I have learned just how important it is to not only know who my representatives are, but also build a relationship with them.

I was once again reminded of this importance last week as I joined our Oregon Dairy Farmers Association for their yearly Dairy Day at the Capital. It is a fun event where we bring in many dairy products to share throughout the day. Cheese, yogurt, milk and ice cream highlight the flavorful diversity of Oregon dairy products. The most important part of the day, besides making everyone happy with delicious products, is the legislative appointments we attend throughout the day. Breaking into to groups we take on as many appointments with our legislators as possible.

The appointments consist of a quick introduction of ourselves and few talking points on some of the bills we are watching this session that either have the potential for a positive or negative impact on our operations. They are short and sweet meetings but have a lasting impact of the whole capital building being reminded of the presence and importance of the dairy industry in our state.

Even if your state doesn’t hold such an event I really encourage you to not only find out who your representatives are, but reach out to them. A simple e-mail introducing yourself as one of their constituents goes a long ways for raising their awareness of your existence in their district.

I’m sure you are all aware of the of the fact that our consumers are sometimes many generations removed from any form of agriculture. Some of those consumers end up holding office in positions of power. As our representative they then are voting on our behalf on legislation that sometimes will have a direct impact on how we run our dairy operations…..{Read the rest of Build a Relationship with your Representative here}