Why Farm Policy Depends on Relationships: A Conversation with Carley Esser McLean

Some of the best conversations I’ve had about agriculture aren’t necessarily about what’s happening in the field. Sometimes they’re about what’s happening in the rooms where decisions are being made and how those decisions eventually make their way back to the farm and the rural communities they support.

I recently chatted with Carley Esser McLean, Associate Director of Policy and Market Development with Missouri Soybeans. Carley grew up in rural Missouri, spent time in Washington, D.C., worked on Capitol Hill and with the Senate Agriculture Committee, and eventually made her way back home to Missouri with her husband and young daughter. Her path gave us plenty to talk about. We talked about what first drew her to agricultural policy, what she learned in Washington, and why she ultimately decided it was time to come home.

But the part of our conversation that really hit home was our discussion about relationships. If you’ve spent much time around farm policy, you know how complicated it can be. Farmers in different parts of the country grow different crops, face different challenges and often need very different things from the same piece of legislation. Add in all the other interests involved, and it becomes a little easier to understand why something that looks pretty straightforward from the farm can become anything but straightforward in Washington.

The other reality is that the people making those decisions have to understand the problem before they can help solve it. That is where we come in. Farmers sometimes underestimate the value of simply telling someone what is happening on their farm. You don’t have to know every provision of the farm bill, speak in acronyms or understand every step of the legislative process. You need to know your farm, your numbers and your story.

Carley and I talked about farm visits, trips to Washington, town halls and the many different ways farmers can develop relationships with policymakers. But those relationships can’t begin the day you need something. I have seen that firsthand. The relationships that matter most are the ones built over time. You show up, stay in touch, invite someone to the farm and explain what you’re seeing when things are good, not just when things are bad. Then, when agriculture is facing a real problem, there is already some understanding and trust there.

We also talked about why passing something as large as a farm bill has become so difficult. There are a lot of people at the table, and compromise should be part of the process, even though today I believe we have lost the art of negotiation. Even when legislation finally passes, that isn’t necessarily the end of it. Implementation matters, too. The details of how a program is actually carried out can make a big difference once it reaches the farm. Having relationships with those people who administer our programs is just as important at the policy makers.

Something else Carley said, and I know to be absolutely true is that we have to make agriculture understandable to people who don’t live it every day. Those of us in agriculture speak our own language. We know what we mean when we talk about yields, basis, input costs, crop insurance and reference prices. But the person sitting across the table may have just come from a meeting about healthcare and be headed to another one about energy or national security. We have to be able to explain why our issue matters without expecting them to already understand it.

That doesn’t mean we need a better sales pitch. It means we need to tell the truth about what is happening on our farms, why it matters and what the consequences are for our families, our businesses and our rural communities. At a time when the economics on the farm are poor, being vulnerable and sharing our stories and examples of our actual farm life make an impact, it makes it real for those who do not live it daily.

Carley’s decision to leave Washington and return to rural Missouri was another part of our conversation I really enjoyed. I think we sometimes frame leaving a rural community as if it means someone isn’t coming back. But maybe we should look at it differently. There is value in leaving home, seeing something different, learning how the rest of the world works and building relationships outside your own community. There is even more value when you bring that experience home with you.

Rural communities need people who remember where they came from, but they also need people willing to help shape where those communities are going. Carley is doing exactly that—taking what she learned in Washington and putting it to work for farmers closer to home.

By the end of our conversation, I kept coming back to the same thought: farm policy really is about people. It’s about farmers trying to make decisions for another crop year, families trying to build a life in rural America and young people deciding whether there is a future for them back home. It’s also about making sure the people writing policy understand what happens when those decisions leave Washington and land on a farm somewhere in Missouri, Arkansas or anywhere else across rural America.

That understanding doesn’t happen because we sent one email or made one trip to Washington. It happens because we built a relationship.

There is always more to the story, and I’m glad Carley shared hers with me.

Listen to my full conversation with Carley Esser McLean on the Field Good Life podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

See you in the field.