National Farmers Union (United States)

rdf:langString National Farmers Union (United States)

rdf:langString National Farmers Union

rdf:langString Board of Directors

rdf:langString NFU

rdf:langString Rob Larew

rdf:langString President

rdf:langString United States

rdf:langString National Farmers Union (officially Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America) is a national federation of state Farmers Union organizations in the United States. The organization was founded in 1902 in Point, Texas, and is now headquartered in Washington, D.C. Today, the organization continues its original mission: to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers and ranchers and their rural communities. It does this by promoting legislation and education beneficial to farmers, and by developing cooperative buying and selling methods and businesses. The current president is Rob Larew, and the vice president is Jeff Kippley. Former NFU Presidents have included Roger Johnson, Tom Buis, and David Frederickson. Today, National Farmers Union represents more than 200,000 family farms and ranches across the United States. There are organized chapters in 33 different states, and proposals are often started at the local level before moving up to the state and national levels. Once in the spring and once in the fall, leaders of NFU convene in Washington, D.C., to talk with legislators about solutions to problems they are facing. They state their mission as, "To advocate for the economic and social well-being, and quality of life of family farmers, ranchers, fishermen and consumers and their communities through education, cooperation and legislation. NFU advocates sustainable production of food, fiber, feed and fuel." They also state, "NFU will continue to be the respected, influential and independent national voice and coalition leader that bridges family producers and consumers on behalf of a vibrant and growing grassroots membership."