NSP Hosts DC Fly-In

In a two and a half day span in early October, NSP representatives attended 23 total meetings on Capitol Hill with legislators from 8 different states. The combined eight states—Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Michigan—account for more than 4.8 million acres of sorghum planted for grain in 2011, which is 91 percent of the total sorghum planted for grain in the entire United States.

 The 23 Hill visits were distributed as follows:

  • 11 visits in the Senate
  • 6 meetings with Senators
  • 5 meetings with Senate staffers
  • 12 visits in the House
  • 9 meetings with Representatives
  • 3 meetings with House staffers

Overall the NSP representatives logged over 120 man-hours in the House and Senate combined. The NSP delegation also met with agriculture committee leaders from both the House and Senate and USDA leadership, including NRCS Chief Dave White and Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, Brandon Willis.

The NSP delegation consisted of NSP Past Chairman, Gerald Simonsen of Ruskin, Neb., NSP Vice Chairman J.B. Stewart of Keyes, Okla., and Leon Sowers of Murdock, Kan. Tim Lust, Chris Cogburn and Lindsay Kennedy participated on behalf of from the NSP staff. Tom Sell, Jeff Harrison, Hannah Lipps and Judd Gardner participated on behalf of Combest, Sell and Associates, NSP’s representation in Washington, D.C.