Anyone have any new and inventive ideas for the betterment of American Agriculture? Would you like to win money for you and your local Grange? If so, you should enter a competition for innovative and promising public policy options to address challenges facing agriculture and the food system sponsored by the Farm Foundation.
Background
The Farm Foundation is an organization serving as a catalyst for sound public policy by providing objective information to foster deeper understanding of issues shaping the future for agriculture, food systems, and rural regions. The group brings together diverse stakeholders for discussions on issues and public policies. The Foundation addresses significant issues across the face of agriculture and rural America—regardless of geographic, livestock or crop boundaries.
The Farm Foundation is holding a competition open to anyone with an interest in the public policy issues outlined in the Foundation's report, The 30-Year Challenge: Agriculture’s Strategic Role in Feeding and Fueling a Growing World . The Foundation intends to award cash prizes totaling $20,000. Details of the competition and entry process are available at the Farm Foundation Web site.
"Agriculture globally faces the challenge of how to provide food to a world that is expected to have 9 billion people by 2040," says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. "This challenge exists at the same time that we are already seeing pressures on global resources, as well as increased demand for agriculture to provide not only food, but feed, fiber and fuel. It is not clear that today's public policies-designed to deal with issues of the last century-provide appropriate tools and incentives to address the challenges of the next 30 years," Conklin continues. "Farm Foundation is offering this competition as a catalyst for innovative ideas and approaches."
Released in December 2008, the Foundation's 30-Year Challenge report identifies six major areas of challenges with a role in agriculture's ability to provide food, feed, fiber, and fuel to a growing world. The six areas are: global financial markets and recession; global food security; global energy security; climate change; competition for natural resources; and global economic development. The report highlights key issues public and private decision makers may need to consider as they confront the challenges of feeding a growing world. The full report is posted at the Farm Foundation Web site, www.farmfoundation.org.
Action Needed
Entries in the Farm Foundation competition are due June 1, 2009 . For each of the six challenge areas, judging will be done by an independent three-member panel selected by Farm Foundation. Prize winners will be announced in September 2009.
The 30-Year Challenge is directed and led by Farm Foundation. Contributing financial assistance to the project are: the Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Pork Producers Council, and the United Egg Producers.
For more information:
Neil Conklin, President, Farm Foundation, Neil@farmfoundation.org
Sheldon Jones, Vice President, Farm Foundation, Sheldon@farmfoundation.org
Mary Thompson, Director of Communication, Farm Foundation, Mary@farmfoundation.org,
(630) 571-9393
If you have any questions or comments regarding this Action Alert, please contact National Grange Program Assistant Molly Thompson by e-mail: mthompson@nationalgrange.org or by calling 1-888-4GRANGE, ext. 107.
Thank you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative Program.
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