We've been looking for Farmfest financials, curious about IDEAg Group LLC, an organization under the control of the American Farm Bureau Federation, which owns the event. On the way, we read Forum Communications' Dana Ferguson's report, Motorcade for Trade stops at Farmfest to stump for USMCA:
A group advocating to pass a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement made a stop this week at Farmfest.
Members of the group Farmers for Free Trade made the latest stop in their Motorcade for Trade tour on Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the farming and agricultural industry trade fair.
The 12-foot RV wrapped in photos of farmers and messages about passing the USMCA, made its way to the state after traversing more than 17,000 miles and stopping in 20 other states.
Angela Hoffman, co-executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, said the drive and the national campaign were aimed at raising awareness about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and urging members of Congress to ratify it. . . .
We didn't know much about Farmers for Free Trade, but a quick Google search delivered a Hagstrom Report item in The Fencepost from 2017, Farmers for Free Trade hires consultants:
Farmers for Free Trade, a group co-chaired by former Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., announced it has hired K·Coe Isom, LLP, a Washington agricultural consulting firm, and World Strategies LLC, a Bentonville, Ark., international affairs firm, to manage its pro-trade campaign.
Last month, the American Farm Bureau Federation announced that it was joining Farmers for Free Trade and would be coordinating closely with the new organization. [AFBF controls the LLC that runs FarmFest]
Brian Kuehl, head of federal affairs at K·Coe Isom, will serve as executive director of the group, and Ryan Stroschein will assist in day-to-day management of Washington operations and agriculture association engagement.
Policy and grassroots advocacy will be led by World Strategies, with Angela Marshall Hofmann, a former Walmart executive and Baucus aide, serving as deputy director and Jennifer Spall, also a former Walmart executive, serving as director of state and local advocacy.
“K·Coe Isom’s leadership in the food and ag industry will help Farmers for Free Trade connect not only with farmers and ranchers, but also with the vast network of industries that depend on robust global trade,” Kuehl said in a news release. . . .
K·Coe Isom bills itself as "the nation's leading Food & Ag consulting and accounting firm." Between it and the former WalMart executives, you can't buy any more down home roots.
Photo: Green acres is the place to be, if it's the Big Ag panderama known as Farmfest. Members of the group Farmers for Free Trade made their latest stop in their Motorcade for Trade tour at Farmfest on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019. Dana Ferguson / Forum News Service. We looked into what this group might be.
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