| Every March since 1996
sugarbeet producers have come from across the country to
converge on Washington D.C. to tell the story of sugar.
They are joined by sugar cane producers, refiners and
sugar company officials. Together, they visit the offices of
Senators and members of the House of Representatives.
"We were very well received," Nebraska
Sugarbeet Growers Association President Bob Busch said who
had been in Washington last week.
The people "we talked to were pretty
favorable," Wyo-Braska Sugarbeet Growers Association
President David Hinman said. Hinman made the trip to Capital
Hill a few weeks ago.
"We met with some congressmen and women who hadn't
supported us in the past, but indicated they would support
us in the future," Hinman said.
Hinman's team visited with Tennessee and Arizona. Busch's
team, which included Western Sugar's Brad Zitterkopf,
visited New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Nebraska.
"Sometimes you have new agriculture aides and
sometimes new Congress-ional people, who are unfamiliar with
the sugar industry," Busch said.
"We ran into a couple new ag aides on our
calls," Nebraska Sugar-beet Growers Association Board
Member Randy Hoff said.
Hoff's team, which included Rodney Schaneman, Vice
President of the Nebraska Sugarbeet Growers Association,
visited Massachusetts, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
"The Hill" visits have become an annual event
since the beginning of the new farm bill in 1996. Some 40 to
50 directors and growers make the trip throughout the month
and each team tries to visit 20 to 25 different offices.
"The visits have been invaluable in telling our
story," Busch said.
"We talk about our industry and some of the problems
we face," Hinman said.
"They don't see us as just a number," Schaneman
said. "They really listen to you - they actually care
and want to help."
"We tell our story and can back everything up with
facts; with the truth," Hoff said.
"The first year we went we had some trouble getting
in to them," Hinman said. "Tennessee doesn't raise
any sugarbeets or sugar cane, however, we were able to
explain to them what products we (as an industry) buy from
Tennessee."
"It is on-going every year," he said.
Each year the teams visits the same offices
"building relationships", Busch said.
After one visit back to the hill, Busch received a call
at home in Mitchell, Neb. from a Senator's aide. They asked
some questions about sugar for the Senator.
"That's what we want," Busch said. "We
want to build a relationship" that will reach past a
Washington visit.
"We want to be a person they can call to get a good
answer; the correct answer," Hinman said.
"If they don't understand us, they don't support
us," he added. "If they do understand us, they
support us."
This year, Hinman had some who hadn't supported sugar in
the past. They said they would, and others said they where
leaning toward supporting sugar.
When the first teams headed to the Hill, there was not a
single member of the Massachusetts delegation who supported
sugar. All 10 of their votes would regularly go against the
sugar industry.
"Today, we have four that have voted with us the
last two times" the sugar policy has come under attack,
Hoff said.
One of those, Congressman William Delahunt, D-Mass.,
"has become what we refer to as a champion of
sugar," Busch said.
"We build relationships back there," Hoff said.
"We don't always go in there and ask for
something," Schaneman said. The meetings are
informational and friendly.
"We're the guys wearing the white hats,"
Schaneman added with a smile.
The good guys riding into Washington D.C. every March,
telling sugar's story and building important relationships
on Capital Hill. |