Advocating for agriculture since 2014, Jerauld County farmers/ranchers Scott and Amber Kolousek have learned that the most effective way to lobby to policymakers at the national level is to talk about the issues that directly affect their farm operation.
“Over the years we have learned that the best thing we can do is talk about the issues that directly affect us. Once we got into it, we realized this is the way we can have a voice for the issues that affect agriculture. The advocacy we do with Farmers Union provides us a way to have a united voice. With that united voice, you tend to be heard a little bit better,” said Amber, who points out that although she and Scott have been lobbying on behalf of agriculture for nearly a decade, it hasn’t always been a part of their lives. “If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I wanted to go to Washington DC and lobby, I would have laughed. But when it comes down to it, we are living agriculture everyday — when you know something inside and out, it makes it easier to talk about it to representatives and senators at the capitol. And it does make a difference.”
While in DC last week, the Kolouseks spoke with a wide variety of legislators about bills that are active and on the table.
The American Beef Labeling Act and the Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act is one that Amber said she and Scott are passionate about.
“You know where your fruits and vegetables come from but we can’t tell you where your beef is coming from,” she said. “It makes me mad as a producer but also for the consumers. If you see something labeled as ‘Product of the USA’ you think it was raised and butchered in this country. That’s not the case. All you have to do is slice it and rewrap it in the USA even if the animal is raised and processed in another country. If you see photos of how beef is raised and butchered in other countries, poorer countries, it’s crazy to think we could label it as from here when it definitely is not.”
The Kolouseks also spoke to legislators about The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act, Guaranteeing farmers’ Right to Repair and Packers and Stockyards Act rulemakings.
“This is the fifth trip we’ve taken, having flownin before in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022.
We went back to back this year because MCOOL and other Acts are on the table and those really affect us,” she said. “Scott and I are really passionate about it. If we don’t get this in this farm bill it might not ever happen. The momentum is now.”
Amber shared that although she and Scott were Farmers Union members for years, it wasn’t until 2014 that they went to a meeting. “We went to a meeting one night and two months later, Karla Hofhenke, Executive Director at South Dakota Farmers Union called and said they were looking for young farmers to go to a DC fly in and they'd pay for it,” Amber shared. “We went, took it all in with experienced members and got the feel of how this type of advocacy really is effective.”
In addition to five Washington DC fly-ins, Scott also now serves as the Farmers Union district president and holds a position on the state board. Amber said that she and Scott have enjoyed growing in their roles as member leaders of Farmers Union because of the organization’s true grass roots structure.
“Farmers Union is 100% grassroots.Allof theirpolicy starts from actual; rancher and farmer feedback at a county meeting, or district meeting,” she explained. “If you have a policy you want to push nationally, it goes from the bottom up — not all organizations run that way. Farmers Union does.”