Idaho Farm Bureau QuarterlySpring 2020 • Volume 20 Issue 2 Producing food in a May 2020 | 1 By Zippy Duvall The Zipline President American Farm Bureau Federation Farmers show we’re all in this together hile there’s a long road ahead in the And for others, it may mean adjusting the way health crisis we’re facing nationally you do business for a time, to meet the needs of Wand globally with COVID-19, I can’t today. help but be uplifted when I hear the stories of For Chad Butters, founder of Eight Oaks how farmers and ranchers and local Farm Bu- Distillery in Pennsylvania, answering the call reaus are answering the call to community and meant changing over his distillery to produce country. hand sanitizer when he heard about the short- For some that could mean doing all you can to age in his community and across the country. hold on till we get to the other side of this crisis. It At Holesinsky Winery in Idaho, they can bare- also means all of us sharing stories of how we are ly keep up with demand for the hand sanitizer still farming to put our fellow Americans’ minds at they’re producing. ease about the security of our food supply. See DUVALL, page 6 By Bryan Searle The President’s Desk President Idaho Farm Bureau Federation Groups come together to support farmers during shutdown hese are very trying times for everyone, es- One of the challenges was that the initial panic pecially the nation’s farmers and ranchers. caused by the coronavirus outbreak resulted in T The men and women who produce the a disruption in getting some food items on store safest, most abundant and affordable food supply shelves. But that was caused by supply chain in the history of the world are facing many chal- disruptions and at no time did this nation ever get lenges right now, just like everyone else is. close to having a food shortage. As soon as our nation was shut down, the Amer- It’s important that consumers understand that ican Farm Bureau Federation, Idaho Farm Bureau and AFBF, IFBF and other farm organizations Federation, the ag and food industries and govern- have worked hard to ensure they do. ment entities quickly came together to communicate An example of working to calm the fears of and work to address the many challenges that the consumers is an AFBF social media campaign coronavirus outbreak has caused agriculture. See SEARLE, page 7 By Rick Keller Inside Farm Bureau CEO Idaho Farm Bureau Federation What have we learned in 2,075 years? arcus Tullius Cicero was a great tus did his infamous deed and stabbed Julius Roman orator, statesman and philos- Caesar, he raised his voice calling upon Cicero Mopher who believed very strongly in to restore the republic. a republican form of government being respon- Mark Antony became the next Roman em- sive to the people. peror and he did not deliver upon his promise He was a great Roman constitutionalist who com- to restore the republic. Antony was challenged manded the support and confidence of the people. by the great orations of Cicero and eventually, After Julius Caesar destroyed the republic Antony ordered Cicero’s execution. and became a dictator, he tried to recruit Cicero Cicero was beheaded and his hands were am- into his inner circle of influence. Due to Cice- putated and nailed to the walls of Rome to warn ro’s love for the republic, Cicero declined. other opposition writers of similar fates. Cicero’s popularity was such that when Bru- See KELLER, page 6 2 | Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly From the editor Idaho Farm Bureau Volume 20, Issue 2 IFBF Officers Despite uncertainty, Idaho President ...................................................Bryan Searle, Shelley Vice President .................................Richard Durrant, Meridian Executive Vice President .......................................... Rick Keller farmers are plowing ahead Assist Executive Vice President ........................... Justin Patten BOARD OF DIRECTORS t should probably come as no Keep in mind that there was Dan Garner ...................................................................... Clifton surprise that most of this May about a two-and-a-half week lag Austin Tubbs ..................................................................... Malad Fred Burmester .............................................................. Downey Quarterly magazine is filled between the time the contents Scott Steele ............................................................... Idaho Falls I with stories or columns about how of this magazine were sent to Stephanie Mickelsen ................................................ Idaho Falls agriculture is the printer and it arrived in your Travis McAffee .................................................................. Howe Gerald Marchant ........................................................... Oakley being affected mailbox. Rick Pearson .............................................................Hagerman by and deal- Response to the coronavirus Rick Brune ..................................................................... Hazelton Cody Chandler ............................................................... Weiser ing with the outbreak, and its impact, is fluid Galen Lee .......................................................... New Plymouth coronavirus and the situation is changing rap- Matt Dorsey ................................................................. Caldwell outbreak. idly. Hopefully, things will begin Marjorie French...........................................................Princeton Tom Daniel ............................................................Bonners Ferry COVID-19 to return to normal or at least Tom Mosman ............................................................Craigmont has pretty much semi-normal by the time you are Judy Woody ..........................................................................Filer dominated the news cycle and is reading this. Jason Fellows ..................................................................Weston at the forefront of people’s minds If that is the case, then some of STAFF as we as a nation and state work the stories may seem a little out- Director of Admin. Services ......................................Cara Dyer through this unfortunate crisis that dated and some of the issues that Member Services Assistant .................................Peggy Moore Member Benefit Assistant ..................................... Dixie Ashton has caused an unprecedented up- farmers and ranchers faced be- Dir. of Commodities and Marketing ..........................Zak Miller heaval in how we live and interact cause of the coronavirus outbreak Dist. I Regional Manager ............................................Ott Clark with each other. may or may not still be relevant. Dist. II Regional Manager .................................. Tyrel Bingham Dist. III Regional Manager ......................................Zack Lanier Reaction to the coronavirus has However, we thought it was Dist. IV Regional Manager .....................................Brody Miller affected every segment of society, important to document how the Dist. V Regional Manager ..................................Bob Smathers Dir. of Governmental Affairs ..............................Russ Hendricks including agriculture. virus outbreak affected agriculture Boise Office Manager ........................................Kristy Lindauer We feel it is important that peo- and how farmers and ranchers Energy/Natural Resources ................................Braden Jensen ple understand some of the impact responded to it. Governmental Affairs Representative ............... Chyla Wilson Director of Information ..........................................Joel Benson the virus is having on the state’s It’s become apparent after Publications Editor/Media Contact .......................... Sean Ellis important agricultural industry, speaking with a lot of farmers, Broadcast Services Manager .............................Jake Putnam which is responsible directly and ranchers and leaders of farm or- Business Systems Administrator ............................. Tyler Moore Videographer ................................................Michaela Andrus indirectly for one in every eight ganizations that represent produc- Printed by: Adams Publishing Group, Pocatello, ID jobs in Idaho and 13 percent of the ers that although Idaho’s nearly state’s total gross domestic product. 25,000 farms and ranches have IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY As you read through the stories been seriously challenged by this USPS #022-899, is published quarterly by the IDAHO FARM BUREAU FEDERATION, and columns in this magazine, it unprecedented situation, they are 275 Tierra Vista Drive, Pocatello, ID 83201. will become apparent that farmers plowing ahead nonetheless. POSTMASTER send changes of address to: and ranchers are forging ahead Frankly, those of us who work IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY with their normal food production at Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, P.O. Box 4848, Pocatello, ID 83205-4848. Periodicals postage paid at Pocatello, Idaho, plans, even though many farm the state’s largest general farm or- and additional mailing offices. commodity prices have declined ganization, expected nothing less. Subscription rate: $4.00 per year included significantly and producers face an One of the main messages that in Farm Bureau dues. uncertain financial future. IFBF, American Farm Bureau MAGAZINE CONTACTS: Idaho Farm Bureau Federation At the same time, farmers and Federation and other farm organi- EDITOR (208)