The Association of Equipment Manufacturers will host the Modern Ag on the Mall event next week in Washington, D.C.
As the farm bill remains front and center for U.S. agriculture, AEM is showcasing the latest farm equipment for the public and policymakers. Curt Blades, AEM Senior Vice President of Agriculture, says it’s a great way to tell the story of modern agriculture.
“For the second time in the last three years, we’re pleased to be hosting a celebration of Modern Agriculture on the National Mall. This really provides an opportunity for those of us in the ag industry to tell the story to lawmakers and policymakers and the general public about what is happening in modern agriculture and the difference that it’s making in producing food and fiber and fuel for a growing world.”
The celebration of Modern Ag on the National Mall takes place the week of May 6, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s open 9am to 5pm every day. Blades says there are multiple target audiences for the event.
“Our first audience is an audience of about 50 to 200 people and those are those folks that are really involved with writing public policies that are really impacting agriculture. The secondary audience is also very exciting, and that’s the general public. That might be Hill staffers or just general public that are walking through the mall. So, we’d love to be able to tell those stories. Tractors and combines and pieces of equipment are pretty good eye candy and a pretty good way to lure people in to tell that story to an audience that is less than less informed than they have been in the past.”
Blades explains what folks will see when they are on the National Mall.
“First of all, the National Mall is a very big place. So, if you’ve been there, you know we’re talking football fields in length. And so, we’ve got 25 different companies and 30 different associations representing various aspects of agriculture and we’ll have everything from sprayers and combines to small tractors, to robotic milking, to irrigation, all of the things that you see on modern farm today, and the really interesting place of the backdrop of the nation’s capital and Washington Monument.”
Blades says now is the perfect time to highlight U.S. agriculture on the National Mall as the industry seeks a new farm bill.
“The timing of this year celebration of modern ag on the National Mall couldn’t be better as we are still without the passage of a new farm bill. There are two critical pieces of legislation that AEM is a big supporter of in the new farm bill, and that’s the Precision Ag Loan Act and the Precise Act. Both of those bipartisan bills provide incentives for farmers to invest in precision agriculture. So, we look forward to telling those stories to the influential audience of Washington D.C. We like to be in that environment at a very important time while those debates are happening in the halls of the Capitol.”
Learn more at aem.org.