AFACT Launches Website, Recruits Members
By SHERRY BUNTING
Special for Farmshine
LANCASTER, Pa. – “They’ve heard the lies, now it’s time they hear from the farmers,” said Pennsylvania dairyman Tom Krall during the second day of the Dairy Summit here on February 7. Krall-View Farm, Lebanon County, is home to a 100-cow milking herd.
Krall, along with DairyBusiness publisher Joel Hastings presented information about the new producer organization: American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology (AFACT).
The group is an outgrowth of the “Voice For Choices” initiative, which began with a few producers and industry representatives during the 2007 World Ag Expo. Today, AFACT has at least 500 individual members and is growing. Various producer groups across the country are also associate members. The group is farmer-led, with three industry advisors. They are organized into “tactical teams” (committees), have no paid staff, and collect no dues.
Last week at the 2008 World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, AFACT officially launched its platform and website: www.itisafact.org. The website includes a place for farmers to join-up, free of charge. There is also a membership opportunity for allied industry representatives. AFACT is still working on more elements for its website, including fact sheets and other important producer materials.
Some recent press stories, want to paint this group as a “front” for Monsanto. Not so. Hard-working, long-time dairy producers lead AFACT and its team-style structure. True, AFACT received some financial backing from Monsanto early on; however, the group is actively broadening it’s focus beyond rbST with more widespread financial support now coming from Northeast dairy producer groups, the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association and Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, producer groups in Idaho, Western United Dairyman, Kansas Dairy Producers Association, and others.
Also true, Osborn-Barr Advertising Agency, based in St. Louis, Missouri, provides pro-bono services to AFACT in designing and producing materials and their website. However, the information contained on the website, and in the AFACT materials, comes directly from the dairy farmer members themselves. They meet weekly by teleconference and email, and they collaborate in person at various producer meetings across the country. They are also hoping to draw members from other commodity groups, who share their concerns about the future of agriculture technologies.
AFACT is led by volunteers who most dairy farmers can relate to, not corporate by any means. Founding members tend to have farms milking between 100 and 500 cows, with a few in the 500- to 2,000-cow range. This group is very representative of the family-owned-and-operated mid-sized dairies of America, more so than large mega-dairies.
The volunteer members of AFACT are actively working on three key “next steps”: 1) creating dairy solidarity through producer meetings; 2) influencing food retailers through producer delegations; and 3) influencing government regulators regarding food-labeling laws.
Their mission is ambitious, to: 1) safeguard the image of modern agriculture products in the market place; 2) provide consumers safe, valuable and wholesome products; 3) advocate for producers’ freedom to choose production technologies and practices for the benefit of all; 4) support the development of agricultural technological advances required to feed a growing global population; 5) educate all in the food chain that “sustainable” agriculture utilizes technologies to produce safe, nutritious and affordable foods with minimal environmental impact and maximum consumer value.
“We have become more visible and are organized by teams,” said Krall. “We are interested in working with existing groups to speak with one voice. This is a flat organization, with no plans for active staff or traditional organizational structure. The funds pledged by allied industry and dairy producer organizations are going directly to the actual work of the volunteer members of AFACT.”
For example, AFACT is currently circulating Wal-mart petitions. “We are looking to challenge Wal-mart on inconsistencies,” said Krall, noting Wal-mart’s recent initiative to have suppliers reduce the carbon foot-print of the products sold in their stores. “If they stop selling conventional milk, it goes against this initiative.”
Even though it is born out of frustration over the misinformation in the rbST issue, AFACT is about speaking up for all the truths,” Krall explained. “The divide-and-conquer tactics that have been going on, are hurting our industry. Dairy farmers are tired of being defenseless to the negatives. With clout and courage, we can demand proper compensation for producing a niche product, if that’s what we’re being told to produce. Let the price we receive reflect this high demand for a niche product. That’s the way it works when I buy corn and beans.”
Krall is a member of the AFACT leadership board, and he co-leads the “Labeling Team” along with Washington state dairy producer Jon Wheeler. This team’s purpose is to encourage states to enhance substantiation guidelines in food labels.AFACT is co-chaired by Carrol Campbell, he and his son operate a 200-cow dairy in Winfield, Kansas, and Liz Doornink, she and her husband Todd are part owners of the 1,700-cow Jon-De Farm in Baldwin, Wisconsin.
Other AFACT teams include: Focus – moving beyond rbST; Relationships – internal with other livestock and ag commodity producers and external relationships with food retailers; Recruitment – attracting producer and allied industry memberships; Communications – internal with members and external with food retailers; and Education – creating tools and resources to educate, influence and affect change.
During the World Ag Expo in California, AFACT held sessions each day. On Tuesday, Feb. 12, co-chairs Doornink and Campbell introduced AFACT with a presentation. On Wednesday, Feb. 13, they presented a moderated roundtable discussion on “sustainability through technology.” And on Thursday, Feb. 14, AFACT leaders posed the question: “who’s demanding rbST-free milk?” During this session, several consumer focus group videos were shared and discussed, including focus groups conducted in Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia (previously reported in December 21 Farmshine).
AFACT leaders, like Krall and Campbell, are particularly active as volunteers in part because their sons have assumed management of their respective dairy farms. But they are still very connected. Calling upon Campbell during the day, you may find him (as I did) in the midst of mending fences on his family’s Kansas farm, and Krall often returns emails just before or after working the late-night milking at his family’s Pennsylvania farm.
In addition to serving as co-chair, Liz Doornink has participated in consumer focus groups, including the one in Philadelphia. She is the mother of three active daughters, manages the human resources for their Wisconsin dairy and provides human resources consulting for other dairies, but still finds the time to volunteer with AFACT.
These are but three examples of the 20 to 30 “regulars” on the weekly AFACT teleconference call. The calls now rotate between an open call for all membership one week, followed by a leadership call among the team leaders the next. Teleconference calls, emails, and producer meetings across the country, are how AFACT gets things done.
“People wonder ‘what can I do?’” Krall observed. “Get involved. Learn. Talk to your milk handlers, neighbors, retailers, people you do business with. Unite. As farmers, we need to look at ourselves and ask: why aren’t we telling our story? Coming together through AFACT, we are training to speak up and learning how to educate others on the safe and appropriate use of technology. We are here to build bridges with a positive and clear message. Consumers certainly deserve a classic milk choice – a choice that is truly sustainable and utilizes technology to produce safe foods with minimal environmental impact and maximum consumer value.”
At the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit, Krall called for unity. “It’s time we work together,” he said. “If this attack was on A.I. or some other technology, which it could be, there would be an outcry that would be immediate and strong. Do we know what will be next?”
Farmers or allied industry representatives who are interested in joining AFACT or learning more about the organization, can call 520-225-0220 or visit www.itisafact.org.
