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Mr. Green Goes to Washington 
IDFA Chairman Jim Green Recounts Adventures on Capitol Hill
As the 2006 Chairman of IDFA, I recently had an experience that turned out to be extremely valuable for me and opened my eyes to the importance of being involved with IDFA's legislative and political programs. As the President and CEO of Kemps LLC, I spend the majority of my time, like most of you, running a business and focusing on customers. Nevertheless, when asked by IDFA's President and CEO Connie Tipton to come to Washington to testify before Congress, I did not hesitate as I felt it was my obligation to represent the industry and our views. Having been a past participant in IDFA's Grassroots Action Network for Dairy (GRAND), an attendee of the annual Washington Conference, and strong supporter IDFA's Ice Cream, Milk and Cheese PAC, I thought I knew what to expect testifying at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee on the current state of the dairy programs. Testifying before Congress is an experience that a very small percentage of the population will ever experience, and this was my first experience in doing so. The experience was, in a word, intimidating. A critical component of IDFA's four-pronged political involvement campaign called Dairy Counts, GRAND is an effective way for IDFA member companies to learn about priority dairy issues and how to grow relationships with legislators. Familiar with GRAND's activities and prepared extensively by IDFA on the intricacies of dairy policy, I was confident that I could relate our member companies' policy positions clearly and effectively to the Committee. I testified alongside witnesses from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and others. I used the opportunity to address the many aspects of the current system that, from a processor's perspective, are just not working. I also presented IDFA's vision for the future of dairy policy in which the free market is allowed to work. In doing so, I was questioned by the chairman of the committee, as well as friendly and unfriendly senators alike. I realized how foreign this world was to me, but how vitally important it is for dairy processors to get involved in political advocacy. I was pleased to see and hear first-hand that the senators were genuinely interested about the negative impacts the current dairy policy have on our business. They listened and agreed that, through reauthorizing the forward contracting program, both producers and processors can win in the 2007 Farm Bill. Although I was exasperated by the comments by some at the hearing that U.S. dairy producers need expensive and market intrusive government subsidies to survive, I was pleased to learn that common ground does exist between processors and producers, and that we can build upon that common ground as we prepare for the 2007 Farm Bill. My experience in Washington made it abundantly clear to me why it is so important for members of IDFA to participate in all of the IDFA grassroots campaigns and political programs of Dairy Counts. This view was reinforced when I visited with champions of our issues, such as Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Rep. Mark Kennedy (R-MN-6) who told me of enormous pressure from groups that oppose changing outmoded dairy regulations. Often, members of these groups consistently outnumber, outspend and speak louder on Capitol Hill than members of IDFA. Often in our effort to reform arcane dairy polices, we are the underdog in our fight in Washington. So that means we have to be ever vigilant, tenacious and committed to our goal of reducing regulation and promoting the benefits of the free market to Congress. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, after all. And, IDFA, through the political programs of Dairy Counts, makes it easy and can help you prepare, as they did me, for the experience of getting more involved in the political process. You do not have to come to Washington to testify before Congress for your efforts to matter. Participating in the GRAND program, reinforcing the importance of voting in the upcoming elections to our employees, participating in Ice Cream, Milk & Cheese PAC, supporting the Dairy Education Fund - all of these things amplify our voice on Capitol Hill. The Farm Bill is right around the corner and the Senate committee assured me that dairy processors will have a seat at the table in the debate over the future of dairy policy. This means that there is no better time than now to explore Dairy Counts and all of the ways to become more active and involved in its programs. I learned a lot in Washington, and though I was happy to get back to Minnesota and running a dairy company, I was truly honored to represent IDFA member companies at the hearing and honored to be part, even for a few hours, of the legislation process that shapes the future of national policy.
Posted July 31, 2006
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