Leaders make an impact on issues in Washington, D.C. 

By Miranda Jachens and John Tamayo

Visiting Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., during the advocacy trip held this month, the eight members of the 2025 Leadership Farm Bureau class were joined by members of the California Farm Bureau board of directors, officers and staff. 

The purpose of the trip was to meet with our elected officials to both inform and provide awareness of different industry challenges that we face in California agriculture. 

The American Farm Bureau Federation and other industry experts provided the group with training and briefings prior to our meetings with members of Congress. We also fine-tuned our advocacy skills and gained a greater understanding of how our government functions. 

We focused on trade and tariffs with Matthew Viohl, California Farm Bureau director of policy advocacy, and Dave Salmonsen, AFBF senior director of government affairs; the 2025 Farm Bill with D.C.-based policy consultant Jonathan Cordone; and immigration with John Walt Boatright, AFBF director of government affairs, and Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers.

The issues of trade and immigration and passing a modernized farm bill were the foundation of our conversations. In addition, we learned about new regulations that were placed on the agricultural sector. 

Leadership Farm Bureau, alongside our California Farm Bureau delegation, traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with California congressional leaders and their staff. During each meeting, we shared our stories and firsthand accounts of how legislation affects each and every one of us. 

We had three areas of focus: improving the agricultural workforce, including discussing improvements to the H-2A program; safeguarding farmers from market challenges of low market prices, tariffs and other trade issues; and advocating for a five-year farm bill to provide farmers with assistance with current challenges and long-term stability.   

While this wasn’t the first year the Farm Bureau pushed for passing a new farm bill, we added our concerns this year about lawmakers potentially breaking up the bill in the reconciliation process. 

Research suggests you need to hear something five to seven times before it is stored in your long-term memory. By focusing our efforts on a few key issues and echoing the Farm Bureau story throughout our visits, our class helps move forward the needs of farmers and ranchers. We strengthen the long-term memory of California agriculture when legislators create new laws. 

Related to trade, we expressed concern about protecting farmers from retaliatory tariffs and low market prices. In meetings with officials from the Embassy of Mexico, our delegation discussed the complementary trade relationship between Mexico and California agriculture and how much we contribute to each other’s economy. One official stressed that North America is together for good and bad times: “We are more than just neighbors; neighbors can move away at any time.” 

We also had the opportunity to tour the Capitol. Our leadership class and the Farm Bureau delegation were reminded of the importance of agriculture in the founding of our nation. We noticed that corn was carved in stone pillars, and quotes of sowing and harvesting the land lined the walls. Agricultural pictures are proudly displayed down each hallway of the building. Daniel Webster’s quote, “When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization,” especially spoke to us. 

By discussing issues in policy meetings, we strengthened relationships with lawmakers, officials and staff, and remain hopeful that they consider the impacts of their decisions, especially when creating new laws and regulations.

As a group, we reflected on how much we learned about agricultural issues and our own leadership types. We met with Maegan Meredith, AFBF director of leadership and organizational training, to review our individual CliftonStrengths assessment. As a team, we had a variety of top five strengths. We discussed how to leverage these strengths to our benefit in our business and life. This is based on the theory that as individuals, you develop your strengths more than improving upon your weaknesses, so we will continue to hone our strengths as leaders.

We are taking what we learned from this experience back to our counties with the hope of becoming stronger leaders in Farm Bureau and our communities. We will encourage other members to participate in programs like this, to be more engaged in advocating, and help protect our industry for future generations. We will be the echo for California agriculture. 

Miranda Jachens of El Dorado County and John Tamayo of Imperial County are members of the 2025 Leadership Farm Bureau class. For more information about the program, contact Ryan Amaral, LFB program director, at ramaral@cfbf.com.