The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry
     
 
 

Opinion Editorials

Grange Expresses its Concern for Rural Broadband Access

By Ed Luttrell
National Grange President

Last week, representatives from the nation’s oldest national agricultural organization were in Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress to discuss issues that are impacting rural communities across the country. Of importance among these issues is the recently announced merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA.

In addition to 10 other national rural organizations and governors representing 13 rural states from across the country who understand the profound impact that expanded mobile broadband access will have on the economy and jobs, the National Grange voiced support with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile.

Given that access to both wired and mobile high-speed Internet has been a long standing issue for our members and those communities we represent, a next-generation wireless network offered by a combined AT&T and T-Mobile to current areas that have little or no choice for the latest wireless services is a positive move. The promise to deploy the fastest and most reliable wireless broadband technology available to over 97 percent of the nation, enabled by the convergence of wireless assets from the two companies, will provide tremendous capabilities to residents in rural communities and across the nation that currently do not have any access to the latest in mobile broadband service.

First, this is an economic issue. Access to the internet can make agricultural businesses more efficient and give them access to a great number of customers. For businesses operating in remote areas, reliable Internet access is crucial to the growth and prosperity of the enterprise, which ultimately provides jobs within the community.

Second, from a societal perspective, as more services are becoming increasingly digital, people living in rural areas will be able to access the necessary day-to-day capabilities that many urban environments take for granted, such as paying bills, filing taxes, accessing health and educational information, applying for jobs, and much more. As our society continues transitioning to a more digitally-based society, critical services are being transferred online, and many rural residents will be left behind if they do not have access to next-generation mobile broadband Internet.

When our members were in Washington, D.C., last week, we spent time meeting with Congressional members and staff, attending policy briefings, visiting Mount Vernon and marveling at the monuments celebrating our history on the National Mall. Amidst this backdrop, Grange members spent a lot of time thinking about the role of government and responsibility of our leaders formulating policy solutions for the good of the people. Various FCC studies consistently demonstrate that rural America still lags behind urban and suburban broadband connections. In his State of the Union, President Obama pledged to connect 98 percent of the nation to wireless broadband technologies in order to effectively promote economic growth, investment, and job creation. While we believe the Administration should be focused on this goal, in a time of budget deficits, government should not bear this burden. If a combined AT&T/T-Mobile wireless network truly will allow 97 percent of America’s population , including those who struggle daily with efficient Internet connections, it is difficult to understand reluctance from consumers and policy makers to such service offerings.

As evidenced by filings currently populating the FCC docket from diverse groups representing hundreds of thousands of residents in rural and agricultural communities, a merger between AT&T and T-Mobile would be a tremendous step forward for consumers and businesses alike looking for equal digital opportunity.

Grange Understands the Realities of Modern Agriculture

By Ed Luttrell
National Grange President

The Grange just celebrated its 140 birthday and did so by once again adapting to a changing world. The members of our organization live in a wide variety of communities in 37 states plus the District of Columbia. Those communities range from sparsely populated rural areas to high-density metropolitan centers. The Grange has and continues to change to serve our diverse membership while retaining our traditional tie to agriculture.

Fewer than 15% of farms in the U.S. today are commercial scale, farming-only businesses. These farms produce 75% of all domestic agricultural production. The remaining 85% of all farmers in the United States rely on off farm income to remain active in the agriculture sector. It is these small and moderate sized farms that remain the only segment of agricultural production that is actually increasing in numbers of participants and is the segment that the Grange is committed to assisting.

The challenge that we face is that the proportion of our population that is directly involved, or has had direct experience, in agricultural production has fallen from nearly 50% a century ago to fewer than 2% today. This means we can no longer take for granted that the general population, and their elected representatives, have any realistic appreciation of the work and commitment involved in producing the safest, least expensive, and most abundant supply of agricultural products in the world.

Today, the average American under the age of 50 is two generations removed from daily life on a family farm or ranch. If we do nothing, the generational distance from direct experience with active farm life of any kind will increase over time, until farm life is only a faint cultural memory in our society. Ignorance and antipathy regarding current agricultural practices among the non-farm population, compounded by nostalgia and myth about our nation’s agricultural heritage are among the most dangerous threats to prosperity in our nations’ farming and rural communities.

Each of us who do understand the realities of agriculture must become educators if we are to ensure the future success and prosperity of the communities in which we live. We have seen what can happen when urban voters cast emotional votes on agricultural issues while rural voters were casting their votes based upon the realities of life.

When we educate people of all ages about who we are, and why we choose to live and work where we do, we will introduce them to a part of America that is crucial to them in many ways. You don’t need to live in a rural community to appreciate a safe, inexpensive, and reliable food supply, but you do need to understand where food comes from. You don’t have to make the choice of which crop to plant or which animal to send to market to understand freedom, but you do need to understand real-life consequences for your actions.

The Grange has been a significant force for educating rural America since its earliest days. In more recent years many communities have transformed from rural to suburban or even urban areas. The traditional Grange hall often remains as a reminder of the past rural community while it stands in the center of urban business activity. Yet it also still serves agriculture by remaining a source of education to those who have never worked in the fields and will never understand the race to finish the harvest before the rains arrive.

The Grange, both rural and urban, understands the importance of teaching every citizen about the realities of agriculture and how critical it is to each person’s future regardless of their occupation. We stand ready to work with any organization that shares our goals and will welcome those individuals who share our appreciation of American agriculture into our Grange family for the next 140 years.

Energizing Rural America: How the Energy Bill Helps Us All

By William A. Steel
National Grange President

When Congress passes a bill, a lot can be lost in the numbers. Dollar signs and pages sometime overwhelm the actual text of a bill, causing the people who are directly affected to lose sight of why legislation was actually passed in the first place.

The mammoth Energy Policy Act of 2005, recently passed by Congress, fits comfortably into this description. Within the 1,700-page document, issues ranging from daylight savings time to tax breaks are thrown together and eventually lost in the magnitude of the text.

The greatest criticism of this legislation is that it does little or nothing to immediately address the short-term problem of rapidly escalating prices for gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, propane, and natural gas. For good or bad, that is as much a result of the federalist and separation of powers’ philosophies built into our Constitution by the Founding Fathers. They wanted to create a bias toward a legislative process that did not act too swiftly in the heat of passion and that addressed problems in the long run rather than producing short term fixes to the problems of the day.

This legislation certainly demonstrates both of these biases toward lengthy and complicated deliberations and long-term policy choices to the detriment of constructive policy ideas regarding the energy price crisis at hand. However, what should not be lost in this legislation are the positive,
long-term effects it will have on farmers and those living in rural communities. Many of the provisions - directly or indirectly - benefit rural areas, a part of the country that is sometimes overlooked when it is time to set constructive federal policies.

One of the most significant benefits is the new Renewable Fuels Standard established in the new energy bill. By federal mandate, renewable fuels usage will increase to 7.5 billion gallons by the year 2012. This mandate will increase the demand for corn (ethanol) and soybeans (biodiesel), driving up the price of these commodities and creating a better market for farmers. Both large and small producers will benefit from this mandate, with a biodiesel tax credit of up to 10 cents per gallon, with up to 15 million gallons of production given to small producers to help balance competition.

Many of America’s families, especially those on fixed incomes, struggle to pay their natural gas and electricity bills. High natural gas prices also translate into huge costs for the typical farmer.

The domestic exploration and production of natural gas is another provision designed to help farmers. For the first time in decades, the federal government will be authorized to do a comprehensive survey of natural gas deposits that lie off our nation’s coasts.

Current government estimates predict that there is a 15-year supply of natural gas beneath our coastal waters, but no one knows for sure. In addition, special tax provisions will help pay for development of new
supplies of natural gas derived from abundant deposits of coal, as well as for new facilities to store liquefied natural gas.

Input prices for fertilizer and other growing agents are directly linked to the price of natural gas. This expansion of domestic supplies of natural gas will drive down costs for things like fertilizer, saving farmers money while better using an already proven natural resource.

Rural communities will benefit from the $800 million earmarked in the recently passed energy bill for an innovative new bond authority created to help in the financing of renewable electricity projects by rural electric cooperatives, municipal governments, and tribal investments. This provision allows consumer-owned electric companies to issue bonds with zero percent interest.

The “interest” paid on the bond comes, instead, in the form of federal tax credits to the investor. This new, creative source of financing will increase investment in consumer-owned electric companies and will directly benefit the rural areas where these companies are predominantly found.

Although some publications have erroneously reported that the energy bill provides few rewards for farmers, the National Grange strongly supports the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and its solid investment in the future of rural America. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 helps to solidify renewable fuels as a staple of America’s energy use, while also reducing costs of natural gas and making investments in consumer owned electric companies more appealing. All of these provisions directly benefit farmers and rural communities, and they will continue to steer rural America toward a positive and prosperous future.

William Steel is the President of the National Grange, America's oldest rural and agriculture advocacy organization. Founded in 1867, today Grange activities include and serve farm and non-farm, rural families and communities on a wide variety of economic, educational, legislative, and family issues.
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