More than 30 Illinois farmers will travel to Washington, D.C., this week to lobby for Illinois Farm Bureau priorities.
Led by Adam Nielsen, IFB’s director of national legislation and policy development, the group’s fast-paced trip begins Monday and ends Wednesday.
“This will be the first trip in the 115th Congress for our members,” Nielsen said. “It will be a good opportunity for Farm 
Bureau members to let their elected officials know where we stand on IFB priority issues, such as tax reform and regulatory reform, and to remind them just how important trade agreements like NAFTA are to farmers’ bottom line.”
After being briefed on the issues by IFB and American Farm Bureau Federation staff, participants will spend a day on Capitol Hill, meeting with members of Illinois’ congressional delegation, as well as the state’s two U.S. senators.
“We want our leaders to have a great experience and return home with a better feel for the advocacy process so they can begin building relationships with members of Congress, or renewing them if they’ve been there before, and to get comfortable telling their stories in support of our priority issues,” Nielsen said.
The group also will visit the embassies of Ireland and Canada. Ireland belongs to the European Union. Canada is part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The group also will meet with officials from USDA.
For trip updates, follow #L2DC on Twitter or twitter.com/farmweeknow, and visit www.farmweeknow.com.
Content for this story was provided by www.FarmWeekNow.com.
