Seventeen members of the North Dakota Farmers Union traveled to Washington, D.C., to serve as delegates at the organization's annual convention held in mid-March. During the event, National Farmers Union delegates adopted the organization's 2009 policy positions, which included farm bill implementation, energy and the environment, rural health care, fair trade, competition and dairy.
Roger Johnson, agricultural commissioner for the state, was elected to lead the organization. Speakers at the convention included Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House, and Tom Vilsack, secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, who laid out the administration's agricultural agenda with special focus on school nutrition and renewable fuels.
Whitney Pandil-Eaton