Welcome to the National Grange Policy Discussion Room

Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3
Click here if you have already registered

The National Grange Policy Discussion Room is an online discussion board that is open to all Grange members who want to express their thoughts on existing Grange policy and other issues of concern to their fellow Grange members across the country. You can post your comments, suggestions or feedback at any convenient time on this board.

Your views and opinions will be important references in shaping the Grange's legislative policies. We are hoping that this discussion forum provides additional information for National and State Grange delegates about the wishes and intentions of our members regarding existing Grange policy as well as new issues that require the Grange's attention. However, the Policy Discussion Room will be used only on an advisory basis. Changes, amendments or additions to National Grange legislative policy can still only come through resolutions submitted through local and State Granges and with the affirmative vote of the National Grange Delegates.

Before you begin, take a few moments to review the simple steps you have to follow to utilize this discussion room.

Step 1

You will see the menu above on top of your first page. If you are a first time user of this service, please click Register and go through the registration agreement terms. If you have already registered from a previous visit, you can go directly to the discussion board by clicking Log in.

Step 2

After the registration agreement terms, you'll see a registration form. You'll be required to fill in Username, E-mail address, Password, and Location area. Other questions or 'fields" are optional. You can fill them out or leave them blank at your discretion. For security purposes and the protection of everyone using the discussion board, please follow these instructions

Username - Please be sure that you enter your real name in the Username box. Individuals who register using a "screen name" such as "NewYorkBob" or "CAGrange Lady" will be deleted from the system and asked to re-register using their real names.

E-mail address - A valid e-mail address is required in order to register for the discussion board. We will use this e-mail address to contact you if there are any problems with your account or with any of the comments you have posted. Your fellow discussion board participants may also want to contact you with direct feedback on your discussion board comments.

Password - You may choose any password you like to gain access to the discussion board and to edit your personal profile. Select a password that you are likely to remember. If you forget your password, we will be unable to retrieve your information and you will not be able to gain access to the discussion board until you re-register. If you expect to only be an occasional user of the discussion board, and therefore more likely to forget your password in between sessions, we recommend that you use the password legislation.

Location - Please fill in the location box by typing the two letter abbreviation for your state, followed by the name of your local Grange, and Grange number. This is a required field. Please fill in completely.
[For example, a discussion group participant affiliated with Potomac Grange #1 in Washington, DC would fill in the Location box as: DC - Potomac #1.]

By providing this basic information, you'll be verified as a Grange member who is eligible to participate on the Grange discussion board. Read carefully all the preferences you can choose in the set up menu. Then click submit. Once you are registered you can log in anytime after that by entering your username and password. Remember, if you do not check the log me in automatically box when you first log in, the program will only allow you to stay logged in for a short time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in, check the log me in automatically box during each login.

---Your personal information will not be sold or given to any one else by the National Grange or used for any Grange related purpose that is not expressly authorized by the National Grange Board of Directors.

Step 3

Now you are in the main discussion section. Click a forum title that you are interested in. If you click, for instance, "Family Farm Policies and Farm Preservation Programs", you will see the following:

Topics Replies Author Views Last Post Policy Outline 1 Peter Banks 7 Wed May 11, 2005 8:53 am Stephanie Wilkins Display topics from previous: All Topics Go

If you want to compose a new topic in this forum, click
If you go into the new topic, you can create your message under your new topic and you also can make a poll by typing in the following area located below the "post a new topic" area. Please limit the duration of any poll that you create to no more than 45 days. Polls that run longer than 45 days will automatically be deleted.

If you want to post a reply to an existing topic "Policy Outline" click "Policy Outline" then you will see the following on top of the message:

Policy Outline

Legislation Forum Index -> Family Farm Policies and Farm Preservation Programs

Click to reply.
Here you can also create a new topic again by clicking
Whenever you want to edit or delete your message click or on right top of your message.

The "Hot Topics" area, on top of all the forums, is about the most current issues that affect rural America. "Hot Topics" will be updated weekly with a different issue pulled directly from newspaper headlines or TV news.

The rest of discussion forum covers more than 1,000 existing National Grange policies. There are six sub-areas for National Grange policies related to Agriculture, Citizenship and Public Affairs, Conservation and Natural Resources, Education and Health, Labor and Judiciary, and Taxation and Transportation. Within each of these sub-areas, the policies are broken down into sub-headings that correspond with the sub-headings in the 2005 Legislative Policy Book. If you want to make a comment on a particular Grange policy but are unsure where to find it, you can use the "search" function on the National Grange website to find "key words" anywhere on our website. For example by typing in the word "dairy" you would receive references to all references on the National Grange website where the word "dairy" occurs, including those sections of the legislative policies that explain our policy on dairy programs. From there you should be able to identify the sub-heading area in the Grange Policy area that are most appropriate for a discussion on Grange dairy policy.

The National Grange Legislative Department reserves the right to monitor all comments posted in the Policy Discussion Room. Comments that are inappropriate or offensive will be deleted. Individuals who post multiple offensive or inappropriate comments will be denied further access to the Policy Discussion Room. The decisions of the National Grange Legislative Department on these issues are final.

IF YOU AGREE, CLICK ON ENTER THE POLICY DISCUSSION ROOM

If you need any assistance with participating in this discussion room please contact immediately our national legislative department by phone at 1-888-4Grange ext. 109 or by email.