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STEUBENVILLE -- Trade, broadband and opioids were among the top points of discussion as presidents of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation made their annual lobbying trip to Capitol Hill this year.
John Grafton, president of the Jefferson County Farm Bureau, said his first time on the annual visit was "a good trip."
"I think it shows representatives and senators there really are faces that go with all those e-mails and messages that they receive," he said.
Prior to the trip, Grafton said he expected trade to be a major topic, but it proved to be even higher up the scale than he anticipated.
"It was about how will other countries react -- if you put a tariff on our steel, we'll put a tariff on your soybeans. China already is threatening to do that," Grafton said. "It's kind of the way it goes. We're used to that in the past."
The renewal of the Farm Bill remains a struggle each time it comes up.
"People say, 'what do all those farmers need subsidies for,' but 75 to 80 percent of the bill is for nutrition -- school lunches, WIC and more. That's a big part of the bill that really isn't what we think of as farming," Grafton explained.
However, the farmers fight to keep the nutrition and agricultural portions under one bill because of a fear that the subsidies would vanish if separated from the politically popular food welfare programs. Grafton said of separating the subsidies from the bill, there are "rumblings of that, but not honest expectations that it is going to happen."
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, made his annual breakfast speech and question-and-answer session with the Ohio farm delegation. He spoke of introducing a bipartisan bill with Iowa Republicans Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, aimed toward making land conservation programs "more user-friendly for farmers."
Grafton said having face-to-face time with U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, was a highlight.
"It's not a lot of time, but a lot of times we talk to our congressmen through their representatives. Over there, we sat down in his office with him and had some straight-on time with him," Grafton said. "We were able to talk about infrastructure and broadband, which takes in a lot of ramifications, whether you're talking about education in school systems or guys trying to keep up with trading commodities."
Grafton said Southeastern Ohio's challenges for greater high-speed broadband computer network access remain small clusters of population and rough terrain.
"It's just one of those things we just have to keep hammering at," he said.
Grafton said it was enlightening to find farmers around Ohio have the same issues to discuss.
"Guys in the western part of the state were talking broadband. Guys from the southern part of the state were talking broadband. The western part of the state was talking about trade in corn and beans, and we were talking about trading in cattle. It all comes back to trade, we all have the same type of problems, just different sizes and sometimes with a little different angle," Grafton said.
Opioids remained a major point of discussion, with the epidemic of overdoses having spread to the farthest reaches of rural Ohio.
"Everybody says it's a problem we have to get on top of, but nobody knows how to get on top of it. Like broadband, it affects so many things, from education to jobs to the family structure. It's really taking its toll," he said.
Brown addressed the opioid crisis, noting a bipartisan bill with Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and signed by President Trump in December gave border agents new tools to keep illegal fentanyl out of Ohio. He said he and Portman have introduced a new bill to give communities additional resources to fight opioid addiction and that there is $6 billion in the federal budget during the next two years, too.
During a Capitol Hill breakfast held annually at the Capitol Hill Republican Club, the Ohio Farm Bureau presidents gave Portman a Golden Plow Award, presented by Frank Burkett III, president of the Ohio Farm Bureau, and Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. The award honors members of Congress who exemplify agricultural leadership and support Farm Bureau policies.
Portman said, "Ohio farmers contribute more than $100 billion to our economy and put food on the table, not only for Ohio families, but people around the world. That's why I've fought for regulatory and tax reform to provide relief for Ohio farmers while also tackling the prescription drug and heroin epidemic, to ensure Ohio farmers and communities have the work force they need."
Portman vowed to stand up for Ohio farmers in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.