A freshman lawmaker in D.C. shared what he’s learned in his time there about ag policy last week at the Indiana Ag Policy Summit.
“I’m convinced that one of the most important responsibilities I have is not speaking for agriculture,” Congressman Jefferson Shreve, a Republican representing Indiana’s 6th district, shared with the crowd Wednesday. “I’m making sure Washington actually listens to agriculture.”
Shreve, who is wrapping up his first term in Congress, says he’s been there long enough now to know that nearly every major policy debate on The Hill either directly, or indirectly, comes back to ag.
“We don’t always call it ag. We call it trade. We call it energy. We call it infrastructure. We call it workforce development. We call it supply chains. We even call it national security.
“But sooner or later, every one of these conversations ends up at the farmgate. And that’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my first term. Agriculture no longer sits at the sidelines of our national conversation. It sits at the center of it.”
He explains that’s why he fought for a spot on the House Appropriations Committee.
“That’s where our national priorities become real. That’s where they get funded. It’s where we decide whether we’re going to invest in agricultural research, whether we’re going to strengthen animal health, whether we’ll support biofuels, whether we’ll modernize our rural infrastructure, whether we’ll continue giving American ag the tools it needs to compete with anyone in the world.”
He shared with the crowd the importance of continuing to reach out to lawmakers either directly or through their commodity organizations, like Indiana Corn and Soy, to make sure their voices get heard.
“I represent ag in Washington. I don’t represent ag from Washington, and that’s an important difference. The best ideas don’t originate in the committee rooms. They originate on our farms, in our agribusinesses, and in Indiana’s research labs.”
Shreve is no stranger to the ag industry having previously invested in farm and ranch land. He also received his masters in agribusiness from Purdue’s Krannert School of Management in 2003.
See Shreve’s remarks in the Indiana Ag Policy Podcast below.
