Letter from Leadership - Tim Trotter

By Tim Trotter, executive director

I want to thank everyone who attended the Edge and DBA Policy Picnics in July. I couldn’t be happier, as just a year ago we had to cancel the majority of these member engagement events due to COVID-19. It was exciting to see a record number of registrations.

No question, our members are eager to get reconnected on our policy considerations, but more importantly to see their fellow members and supporting companies. Good things happen when these interactions take place.

A special thanks to Larson Acres in Evansville, Wis., Cornette Dairy in Luxemburg, Wis., and Bomaz Farms in Hamond, Wis., for their willingness to host the picnics. These farms are shining examples of what good farms are made of. While they are all unique in their operations, the families share the same strong passion for dairy. I was also impressed with the attendance of local elected officials. These rare opportunities are critical to building trust and relationships. Our team is looking forward to seeing more of our members in August in South Dakota.

We continue to monitor the climate conversation and policy considerations coming out of Washington, D.C. It’s obvious there is much concern about how agriculture will fare with either backdoor or stand-alone legislation. The continued drought and heat is the western part of the United States will only amp up the conversation. I predict that the next farm bill will be laced with climate-related policies. How we address these challenges will be critical.

My instinct is to be on the offensive. Agriculture has been on a climate-friendly path for decades. There’s plenty of data to support this. However, for years, ag groups have not conveyed the data in a climate conversation, mostly because groups didn’t want to link climate and agriculture together.

Well, now it’s time to be open about agriculture’s positive effect on climate. Let’s connect the real-life data on farms. Let the innovation and science drive the conversation.