Policy Issues

The Gillespie County Farm Bureau, Texas Farm Bureau and American Farm Bureau Federation are the building blocks that represent the American voice for agriculture and rural issues. As a "grassroots" organization, the policy Gillespie County residents deliver to our local, state and national representatives begins right here in our county. The process for submitting your input, since 1933, has been the same.

Today, it would help you to know the current accumulation of policy statements. If you have never seen our 119-page policy book, which covers 191 subjects, you can go to the Texas Farm Bureau website (http://www.txfb.org) or go to our GCFB office, 237 Equestrian Drive, Fredericksburg, for a printed copy. You will be pleasantly surprised at the extensive thought that goes into each issue. Have a resolution? Bring it by the county office.

As the world turns, there are changes that affect each of us every day. Therefore, our "Policy Book" is a living document. When you submit ideas to your county Farm Bureau, we compile them, take them to a district meeting, and organize everything for submission to a statewide review board. This review board, with the help of attorneys and advisors, will refine the language into a final form, suitable for legislative review. Some ideas are combined, edited...and yes, eliminated...to conform with Farm Bureau standards. At the state Farm Bureau convention, we go line by line through any changes or additions, and vote on every one. The entire process is true democracy at work.

If you would like to submit an idea to your Gillespie County Farm Bureau, we would suggest you call our Policy Committee Chairman Charlie Wilson before you start. He can be reached at home by calling 830.990.4917 or by email at cwilson@txfb.net. Mr. Wilson is familiar with the existing policy and can help guide you through the process. We welcome your input. The Texas Farm Bureau has put together some procedures for helping you write your resolution and get them accepted.

The deadline for submitting policy changes for the 2010 Policy Book is Sept. 28, 2009. Gillespie County votes on what we send to the state at our county convention. This year our convention will be held at the GCFB Event Center, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009.