"Farm Bureau is an advocate for rural people. It is our political arm in Columbus and in Washington. Farm Bureau negotiates with many other organizations and this in turn helps to increase the standard of living for everyone." Wayne County, NW19 CouncilAccording to a recent publication, the Ohio Farm Bureau is "a federation of 87 county Farm Bureaus representing all 88 counties. Likewise, the 50 state organizations make up the over 4 million members of the American Farm Bureau." The Bureau functions on a multitude of levels which include creating and passing agricultural legislation, defining land use policies, addressing farm/home safety issues, providing health care insurance, educational opportunities and school funding. In addition, members have access to a myriad of benefits such as workers' compensation, compliance consulting, agri-planning, discounts on auto rentals and long distance telephone calls. The Farm Bureau also publishes the "Buckeye News," a monthly publication distributed freely to members. The Bureau is an active sponsor of Ag-in-the-Classroom, educating some 20,000 Ohio students in agriculture. They also provide funding for camps and conferences in an effort to provide opportunities for young farmers. Moreover, the Bureau acts to facilitate discussion between farm families by providing opportunities for meeting and relaying suggestions to Bureau representatives regarding relevant issues. Enumerated below are some of the Bureau's achievements, including legislation they "helped pass, they worked on, and past accomplishments." These, too, are listed in the "You Can Make a Difference through the Farm Bureau" pamphlet referred to above.
"Farm Bureau has a lot of political clout. Working together we can accomplish what we cannot do as individuals." Henry County, Cloverleaf Council
"By joining Farm Bureau we can exchange information on problems and take a united action to correct them. One person alone hasn't much chance of being heard." Lucas County, Conversationalists Council
"One of the few organizations left that fights for the farmers' rights." Fulton County, Lucky Seven Council
"We need people to join us to help promote farm facts and counteract animal rights groups and environmentalists." Henry County, Happy Campers Council
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for the American Farm Bureau home page.