American Farm Bureau Federation


The American Farm Bureau Federation, more commonly known as Farm Bureau Insurance and Farm Bureau Incorporated, is a United States-based insurance company and lobbying group that represents the American agriculture industry, from small family farms to large agricultural corporations. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Farm Bureau has affiliates in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

History

The Farm Bureau movement started in 1911 when John Barron, a farmer who graduated from Cornell University, worked as an extension agent in Broome County, New York. He served as a Farm Bureau representative for farmers with the Chamber of Commerce of Binghamton, New York. The effort was financed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Lackawanna Railroad. The Broome County Farm Bureau was soon separated from the Chamber of Commerce. Other farm bureaus later formed in counties across the U.S., as listed with dates at "List of Farm Bureaus".
In 1914, with the passage of the Smith–Lever Act of 1914, the U.S. Congress agreed to share with the states the cost of programs for providing "county agents", who supplied information to farmers on improved methods of animal husbandry and crop production developed by agricultural colleges and experiment stations, which has evolved into the modern-day Cooperative Extension Service.
In 1915, farmers meeting in Saline County, Missouri, formed the first statewide Farm Bureau.
The initial local and state farm bureaus had a social and educational function furthering the extension service efforts, and they also pursued the functions of pooled negotiating power for purchasing of supplies like seed and equipment and pooled capability to provide fire insurance and vehicle insurance for their farms, via both negotiating power and self-insuring capability ; they were comparable in that respect to mutual insurance companies. In all of these functions, local and state farm bureaus thus became the closest thing to either a farmers' union or a trade association for farmers that existed in the United States outside of small co-ops. More precisely, they formed a network of such unions or associations with a national parent organization, somewhat analogous in that respect to a federation of trade unions such as the AFL–CIO; but with individual family farms being self-employed, the parallel with trade associations is more relevant.
They have since developed a lobbying presence as well.
In 1919, a group of farmers from 30 states gathered in Chicago. They founded the American Farm Bureau Federation with the goal of "speaking for themselves through their own national organization". Its initial organization papers said:
In 2003, the Farm Bureau moved its headquarters from Park Ridge, Illinois, to Washington, D.C.

Lobbying

A 2012 exposé published by The Nation detailed the political operations of the Farm Bureau, including its extensive lobbying for industrial agricultural corporations:
According to the article, the Farm Bureau retains 22 registered lobbyists. In 2012, it was the top contributor to federal candidates, parties, and outside groups with payments of over $1 million, with 62% to Republicans. Over the past decade, the Farm Bureau spent $16 million, which was 45% of the total amount spent by the ten largest agribusiness interests in the U.S.
The Farm Bureau supported the Fighting Hunger Incentive Act of 2014, a bill that would amend the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend and expand certain expired provisions that provided an enhanced tax deduction for businesses that donated their food inventory to charitable organizations. Farm Bureau argued that without the tax write-off, "it is cheaper in most cases for these types of businesses to throw their food away than it is to donate the food".

Climate change

The Farm Bureau has long opposed regulation or taxation of greenhouse gases and climate policy that it says would decrease the competitiveness of American agriculture, especially while farmers and businesses of other nations remain unburdened by emission limitations. The Farm Bureau's opposition to climate change-related regulation began with cap-and-trade regulation measures, which the Farm Bureau argued would increase fuel and fertilizer prices for farmers. At that time, the Farm Bureau's official position was that "there is no generally agreed upon scientific assessment of the exact impact or extent of carbon emissions from human activities, their impact on past decades of warming or how they will affect future climate changes". In 2003, Farm Bureau economists joined the Heartland and Hudson Institutes in publishing a paper that "called state or federal regulation of greenhouse gases 'unnecessary, enormously expensive, and particularly injurious to the agricultural community.
The climate change session at the Farm Bureau's 2010 national meeting was entitled "Global Warming: A Red Hot Lie?" and featured climate change denier Christopher C. Horner, a lawyer for the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, a largely industry-backed group that strongly opposes limits on greenhouse gases. At the meeting, delegates unanimously approved a resolution that "strongly supports any legislative action that would suspend EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act". Right before the meeting, the Union of Concerned Scientists sent the group a letter pointing out that its climate change position runs counter to that of every major scientific organization and urged it to support action on climate change. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said that farmers have more to gain from cap and trade than they stand to lose.
By 2019, the Farm Bureau had ceased to publicly deny climate change, but remains opposed to non-market-based solutions. It continues to argue that carbon and emission restrictions will raise the costs of energy and fertilizer and hamper the competitiveness of American farmers. It opposes taxes on carbon uses or emissions, any law or regulation requiring the reporting of any GHG emissions by an agricultural entity, any regulation of GHG by the EPA, and any attempt to regulate methane emissions from livestock.

Insurance

In addition to its political lobbying activities, the Farm Bureau is "a multi-billion dollar network of for-profit insurance companies" and the third-largest insurance group in the United States. The Farm Bureau collected $300 million in crop insurance premiums in 2011. Incidentally, the Farm Bureau was heavily involved in lobbying for the 2012 farm bill, which included $9 billion in federal subsidies for crop insurance.
An organization independent of the Farm Bureau called FBL Financial Group based in West Des Moines, Iowa, sells insurance under the brand name Farm Bureau Financial Services. It also uses the Farm Bureau logo.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company began as an insurance company for members of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. It continues to serve as an insurance provider to Farm Bureaus in nine states. Other insurance companies tied to Farm Bureaus include Farm Family Insurance, which serves as an insurance provider to Farm Bureaus in five states, and Country Financial, which serves clients in seventeen states.
The Farm Bureau and its state affiliates also own American Agricultural Insurance Company, a reinsurer, and American Farm Bureau Insurance Services, a crop insurer.

List of Farm Bureaus

BureauHeadquartersFoundedInsurance
Alabama Farmers FederationMontgomery, Alabama1921Alfa Insurance
Alaska Farm Bureau
Arizona Farm BureauGilbert, ArizonaFBL Financial Group
Arkansas Farm Bureau FederationLittle Rock, Arkansas1935Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
California Farm Bureau FederationSacramento, California1919Allied/Nationwide
Colorado Farm BureauCentennial, Colorado1919Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Connecticut Farm BureauWethersfield, Connecticut1919Nationwide
Delaware Farm BureauCamden, DelawareNationwide
Florida Farm BureauGainesville, Florida1941Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Georgia Farm Bureau FederationMacon, Georgia1937Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Hawaii Farm Bureau FederationHonolulu, Hawaii1948
Idaho Farm Bureau FederationPocatello, Idaho1939Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Idaho
FBL Financial Group
Illinois Farm BureauBloomington, Illinois1916Country Financial
Indiana Farm BureauIndianapolis, Indiana1919Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance
Iowa Farm BureauWest Des Moines, Iowa1918FBL Financial Group
Kansas Farm BureauManhattan, Kansas1919FBL Financial Group
Kentucky Farm BureauLouisville, Kentucky1919Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Louisiana Farm Bureau FederationBaton Rouge, Louisiana1922Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Maine Farm BureauAugusta, Maine1951Farm Family
Maryland Farm BureauDavidsonville, Maryland1915Nationwide
Massachusetts Farm Bureau FederationMarlborough, MassachusettsFarm Family
Michigan Farm BureauLansing, Michigan1919Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan
Minnesota Farm BureauSt. Paul, Minnesota1919FBL Financial Group
Mississippi Farm Bureau FederationJackson, Mississippi1922Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Missouri Farm BureauJefferson City, Missouri1915Missouri Farm Bureau Insurance
Montana Farm Bureau FederationBozeman, Montana1919Mountain West Farm Bureau Insurance
FBL Financial Group
Nebraska Farm BureauLincoln, NebraskaFBL Financial Group
Nevada Farm BureauSparks, NevadaCountry Financial
New Hampshire Farm Bureau FederationConcord, New HampshireFarm Family
New Jersey Farm BureauTrenton, New JerseyFarm Family
New Mexico Farm & Livestock BureauLas Cruces, New MexicoFBL Financial Group
New York Farm BureauAlbany, New York1911Nationwide
North Carolina Farm BureauRaleigh, North Carolina1936North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance Group
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
North DakotaFargo, North Dakota1942Nodak Mutual Insurance Company
FBL Financial Group
Ohio Farm BureauColumbus, Ohio1919Nationwide
Oklahoma Farm BureauOklahoma City, Oklahoma1942Oklahoma Farm Bureau Insurance
FBL Financial Group
Oregon Farm BureauSalem, Oregon1932Country Financial
Pennsylvania Farm BureauCamp Hill, PennsylvaniaNationwide
Puerto Rico Farm BureauSan Juan, Puerto Rico
Rhode Island Farm BureauJohnston, Rhode IslandFarm Family
South Carolina Farm BureauCayce, South Carolina1944Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
South Dakota Farm BureauHuron, South Dakota1917FBL Financial Group
Tennessee Farm BureauColumbia, Tennessee1921Tennessee Farmers Insurance Companies
Farm Bureau Health Plans
Texas Farm BureauWaco, Texas1933Texas Farm Bureau Insurance
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Utah Farm BureauSandy, Utah1916FBL Financial Group
Vermont Farm BureauRichmond, Vermont1915Nationwide
Virginia Farm BureauGoochland County, Virginia
Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Washington State Farm BureauLacey, Washington1920Country Financial
West Virginia Farm BureauBuckhannon, West Virginia1919Nationwide
Wisconsin Farm Bureau FederationMadison, Wisconsin1919Rural Mutual Insurance
FBL Financial Group
Wyoming Farm Bureau FederationLaramie, Wyoming1920Mountain West Farm Bureau Insurance
FBL Financial Group