California Farmers Return from Nation’s Capital Joined More than 250 Farmers and Ranchers during NFU Legislative Fly-In TURLOCK (Sept. 16, 2011) – After three action-packed days in Washington, D.C., California Farmers Union (CFU) and California Dairy Campaign (CDC) leaders traveled back home after the conclusion of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Annual Legislative Fly-In in Washington, DC. CFU and CDC members joined more than 250 farmers and ranchers from across the nation in an effort to talk face-to-face with legislators about the next farm bill and other key legislation. “We met with Chief of Staff to President Obama Bill Daley, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson and other top government officials who are determining the priorities for the next federal farm bill,” explained CFU President Joaquin Contente. “For California farmers it is critical that that the next farm bill includes a strong safety net when producer prices drop, fosters competition in the agriculture sector, improves food safety laws, and provides resources to enable farmers to achieve environmental goals and other top priorities.” “We had a lengthy meeting with U.S. House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson and urged him to make improvements to the dairy title of the farm bill so that dairy producers receive a fair return on their investment,” explained CDC President Joe Augusto. “We called for dairy policy reforms to improve the dairy support program to reflect the value of milk in the marketplace, and establish an inventory management program that will balance milk supply with market demand.” Comprised of more than 1400 farmer and rancher members, CFU advocates policies at the state and national levels on behalf of its membership throughout California. The California Dairy Campaign (CDC) is a grassroots organization of dairy farmers who are working to encourage lawmakers and the dairy industry to be more responsive to the needs of the family dairy farm in California. CDC is a member organization of CFU which is a state chapter of National Farmers Union (NFU). NFU represents more than 250,000 members nationwide. NFU works to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers, and their communities.
The CFU Delegation to the NFU Fly-In included CFU President Joaquin Contente of Hanford, California Dairy Campaign (CDC) President Joe Augusto of Visalia, CFU Vice President George Davis of Sonoma, CFU and CDC leaders Scott Magneson of Cressey, Johnny Tacherra and Eddie Valadao of Hanford and CDC Field Representative Joe Melo of Snelling.