I am a farmer from southern Illinois where three generations of my family have planted sorghum, corn, soybeans and wheat. In 1983, I took a part-time job in the insurance industry, which led to the beginning of many leadership roles on local, state and national boards.

I’ve dealt with governmental issues at all levels and faced government bodies always looking for more money by increasing taxes and fees or cutting benefits. Some battles were fought hard with success and in others we came up short, but the experiences have better equipped me for the battles we face today as agricultural producers.

I became involved with sorghum leadership in 2011 after a successful Vote Yes campaign to pass the Sorghum Checkoff referendum. Through various advocacy roles I’ve held on behalf of National Sorghum Producers, I was invited to participate in the D.C. Fly-In.

The average person who is back at home on the farm has no idea what truly goes on in the office of a Senator, Congressman or Congresswoman or the agriculture committee room and the amount of work, information and time that goes into creating and passing a farm bill. Additionally, people think their vote and voice does not matter or make a difference, but the fact is, it makes a great amount of difference.

Over the last 100 years, the definition and scope of family farms and what it means to be one has changed greatly. Most family farms sprawl across several thousand acres. We at home understand this, and our local politicians generally understand this, as well.

However, when we turn on CNN and Fox, we see legislators who are not from a farm background, and they do not understand the family farm as it is today. They use words like mega farm and corporate farm. Their door is constantly revolving, and people walk in and out of legislators’ offices 24/7, asking to fulfill specific needs and wants.

We have a story to tell, and there is a saying in Washington, D.C.—if you’re not at the table you might be on the table, which unfortunately is happening to agriculture through policies, regulations and reduced funding at an alarming rate.

There is a banner that hangs on one of the Congressional offices I’ve seen that says FOOD IS AMMUNITION. This does not mean it is a nickel and dime barter system like it was 500 years ago. We are talking multi-billion-dollar deals locally and abroad that impact our bottom line right back here at home—like the China anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cases announced two years ago that had an immediate impact on the price and future exports of sorghum.

Typically, two days is the actual time NSP Fly-In participants spend on the Hill where we all average about 15-20 appointments. I happened to be in D.C. with National Sorghum Producers when the trade news hit in 2018, and we utilized those two days to the fullest extent. As an organization we armed ourselves legally then took to the Hill to defend ourselves and seek action on behalf of American sorghum farmers.

When I come back home from these trips, everyone always asks, “Did you do any good?” The answer is always a resounding, “Yes, we did good.”

How do I know I did good? I know when I see the reflection in the way sorghum is more equally treated under the crop insurance guidelines. I know when I see the prices sorghum receives under the farm safety net programs. I know when I see crop insurance premiums continue to be subsidized, I know when I go to the FSA office and ask for permission to do some land improvements and my request is granted, and I know when AD and CVD cases are dropped against U.S. sorghum with a mere send of a tweet by our President.

Did we do good? We did great. The highlight of all my trips to Washington, D.C., is when I finally made it to the West Wing of the White House for a meeting with former Agricultural Adviser to the President Ray Sterling. What an honor it was to go through security and into the room where many U.S. and international statesmen have held meetings and conferences.

I humbly say this with all the respect I can muster—it has been a great honor to serve and go to Washington on behalf of sorghum farmers, and I will continue to do so as long as I am able. In this Administration, we are not out of the woods yet, and as trade negotiations continue with China, USMCA lingers in Congress and other trade deals are evaluated, we will need continual producer input and influence. Your voice will count if you make it.

John farms with his family near Enfield in southern Illinois where they grow sorghum, corn, soybeans and wheat. He is a member of the National Sorghum Producers Legislative Committee and testified on sorghum growers’ behalf during the 2014 Farm Bill debate.

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This story originally appeared in the Fall 2019 Issue of Sorghum Grower magazine in the Capitol Hill department.