Public Policy
Georgia Farm Bureau's Public Policy Department is charged with pursuing one of the original purposes of Georgia Farm Bureau: to represent farmers and agriculture in the legislative arena. In accomplishing this goal the department works to coordinate the development of Georgia Farm Bureau policy, and to implement that policy through a number of legislative activities.
But the Public Policy arena goes beyond just legislative activities. We work to serve Georgia Farm Bureau's Commodity Advisory Committees, represent GFB on the state's Agricultural Commodity Commissions, and maintain relationships with other commodity organizations and stakeholders.
Grassroots
The development of Georgia Farm Bureau policy is truly a grass-roots effort. This process, which began over 65 years ago, is the backbone to our organization. Policy development allows members to decide the positions we take in Washington and Atlanta. Farm Bureau is one of the few organizations that uses a true democratic process for representing members' views.
The other side of the Public Policy Department coin works with Farm Bureau leadership to promote the organization’s objectives at all levels of government. We assist county Farm Bureaus on local issues, work to implement state and federal policy, and inform our membership of the outcomes. Our goal is to act as an intermediate between the farmers and their elected officials. We maintain a daily presence at the State Capitol working to deliver the farmers' message and implement Farm Bureau policy.
We host events such as “Farm Bureau Day at the Capitol” that allows our members the opportunity to discuss specific issues of interest with their elected officials. We then update our members on the progress of those issues with weekly legislative reports, delivered in print and electronically.
State & National in Scope
On national issues, we work closely with our Georgia Congressional Delegation and the America Farm Bureau. Annually we host a "GFB Presidents' Trip to Washington" visit that allows local Farm Bureau members the opportunity to sit down and discuss issues with their federally elected officials.
We encourage GFB members to become more involved in legislative activities such as county legislative meetings and political forums. Without a doubt, the political strength of Georgia Farm Bureau is derived from the involvement of the statewide membership.
You can have a voice in the legislative process by sharing your opinions and concerns with lawmakers in Atlanta and Washington. To help you do that, we've created our Legislative Action Center. The Action Center is a resource for locating your elected officials, as well as sending message to them via email. You can also search for state and national legislation that affects you, and even sign up to receive alerts from Georgia Farm Bureau regarding issues related to Georgia agriculture.
To see state and national district maps for Georgia lawmakers, you can visit our Congressional and State District Information Page.
To contact Public Policy Department staff, please call (800) 342-1192.
