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Bumper sticker diplomacyBy Michael Fisher Golden Plains Area, livestock Extension agent, Colorado Hopefully, you will forgive me but I would like to format this week's article a little differently than usual. Instead of writing an educational piece on some chosen subject, I would like to make you think about a situation that potentially could affect every American, whether they realize it or not. I suspect that many of you are like myself, concerned about what will come out of the great farm bill debate. A couple of weeks ago, I read the U.S. Department of Agriculture's white paper, "The Effect of Failure to Enact a New Farm Bill: Permanent Law Support For Commodities and Lapse of Other USDA Programs." This white paper, which can be found on the Internet, gives a brief synopsis of some of the results that we would be faced with should the current farm bill be permitted to expire without either an extension or a new farm bill. Also, nearly daily, an updated news article about the farm bill issue lands in my e-mail account. One of these articles I found to be particularly silently-powerful. It told of a D.C. debate from last summer when Colorado Congressman John Salazar held up a bumper sticker that read "Not everyone farms, but everyone eats." The bumper sticker was part of the agriculture advocacy group, Farm Policy Facts, efforts to remind Congress of the importance of American agriculture. It seems odd that six simple words on a bumper sticker can sum up a matter of such importance. Maybe agriculture needs to adopt bumper sticker diplomacy to remind the American public just how important the agrarian community is to our society. After all, some successful marketing campaigns for food items have been found at the back end of a farm truck. Statements like "Got Milk?" and "Beef: It's What's For Dinner" have become mainstay parts of American pulp culture. Here are ten ideas that I thought might catch attention: Slow Moving Vehicle Today, Fast Food Tomorrow; My Cow Makes Your Insulin; Shirt, $15; Lunch, $8; Farmer Who Produced It, Priceless; I Ranch For You; Hungry. Naked. Where Did All The Farmers Go?; Farm = Fiber + Food + Fuel; If Your Milk Comes From A Store, How Did The Store Get It?; Farming: The Original Survivor Series; Agriculture: You Can't Live Without It!; Farm Rule #1: Feed The People. Can you think of any good slogans that could be used to remind America about the importance of agriculture? Last week, the previous farm bill was extended once again. The latest reprieve stretches the 2002 farm bill out until April 18. So the farm bill battle continues another month and the permanent law countdown clock is reset. Here is your chance. Take this opportunity to remind your elected officials and the American people about the importance of America's agricultural community and what it means to society as a whole. 3/31/08 Date: 3/26/08 Advertisement
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