<b>By JANE HOUIN<br>
Ohio Correspondent</b> </p><p>

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Members of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) gathered in New Orleans last week to recognize the excellence of their peers, to elect new leadership, and to set policy for the year during their annual convention.<br>

Convention speaker Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.), secretary of state under President George W. Bush, told AFBF members that America is still a place of hopes, dreams and opportunities.<br>

“It’s better to have trading issues, than issues of war and peace,” Powell said, referring to recent challenges U.S. agriculture has faced with Japan and South Korea. “Although you don’t see this on the nightly news, the world we live in today is one of enormous opportunity, especially for American agricultural interests.”<br>

Powell predicted exports of U.S. farm products to foreign nations, such as China, will increase as that country now has a middle class that expects a better standard of living that includes better food and nutrition.<br>

Improved technology and the productivity of American farmers and ranchers will allow them to take advantage of that opportunity and many others, Powell said.<br>

In another session, David Acheson, the assistant commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, outlined a food defense plan. He said, despite food-safety challenges in recent months, Americans still enjoy a reliable, safe food supply.<br>

“America has the safest food supply in the world,” Acheson said, noting that relatively few food-poisoning cases are reported while 300 million Americans eat three meals or so per day. “What we’ve got to do is make it safer.”<br>

Acheson said America needs to become more proactive and find ways to prevent outbreaks rather than just reacting. FDA is implementing a food protection plan that addresses both food safety and defense for domestic and imported products.<br>

Betty Wolanyk, AFBF’s director of education and research, explored the origins of misconceptions about agriculture in a discussion titled Addressing Misconceptions About Agriculture.<br>

“We need people to understand modern agriculture and how the food they eat is produced,” Wolanyk said. “Children’s movies in particular, often perpetuate misconceptions about modern agriculture. The next time you watch a children’s movie that portrays animal agriculture, take a very close look at it.”<br>

With the convention in New Orleans, it was a prime opportunity for farmers and ranchers to learn lessons from New Orleans residents and their experiences with Hurricane Katrina.<br>

While the storm and its aftermath taught New Orleans residents a number of lessons, perhaps the most important was to learn to adapt to changing circumstances and respect the forces of nature said New Orleans residents and motivational speaker Bruce S. Wilkinson and former reserve police officer and New Orleans attorney James Thompson.<br>

“Confidence comes from being comfortable with the uncomfortable,” Wilkinson said. “Change is inevitable, but adaptability is optional.”<br>

He said for ordinary individuals and organizations such as Farm Bureau to survive inevitable changes and challenges, folks have to become leaders - and the best leadership qualities tend to come from ordinary people rather than prominent elected officials.<br>

He saw this in action in the aftermath of Katrina as neighbors helped each other escape the rising waters and as volunteers from other states arrived to help rebuild homes.<br>

Thompson agreed that the key to recovery in his own experience was neighbors pulling together and communicating and assisting each other without waiting on assistance from local, state or federal governments.<br>

Thompson, who has handled legal matters for Farm Bureau members, shared his own family’s story and photos of damage and recovery. He was unable to get to his home in an upscale neighborhood until 13 days after the hurricane, and even then water still topped his hip-high boots.<br>

“When Mother Nature warns of coming disaster, gather what’s important and leave,” Thompson said. “Don’t be a hero and think you can stay.”<br>

Katrina devastated a range of neighborhoods and families, regardless of race or socio-economic status, Thompson said.
He thanked the Farm Bureau for hosting its convention, attended by more than 5,000 members, in New Orleans. Events like this, he said, are needed for the city and residents to get back on their feet.<br>

During the election of officers, Bob Stallman, a cattle and rice producer from Columbus, Texas, was re-elected to his fifth two-year term as president for the organization, and Barry Nushue, an Oregon nursery and berry producers, was elected AFBF vice president.<br>

Terry Gilbert of Kentucky will continue to serve as chair of the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee.