This past summer was great -- I interned with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.
PFB represents more than 50,000 farm members across the commonwealth, and has been recognized as one of the most influential lobbying firms in the state. I was the Governmental Affairs and Communications intern, so I got to see the day-to-day workings of what an agricultural organization does to promote the largest industry in Pennsylvania.
I wrote research policy development articles as well as articles for farm members to help them understand the commodities that they produce. I truly appreciate how the staff involved me with all aspects of the agricultural industry. I was able to attend meetings on dog law, animal welfare and dairy pricing.
The highlight of my summer was when the National Affairs Lobbyist and I spent a few days in Washington, D.C., where we visited with the Congressional Representatives and Senators from Pennsylvania. Our main goal was to meet with them and talk about the differences between two bills in the House and Senate, both dealing with the Clean-Up and Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.
Much of Pennsylvania lies within the bay's watershed, so the information that we relayed to the elect officials was very pertinent to their congressional areas. Later, I got to tour the American Farm Bureau Federation’s headquarters.
During the summer, I also had the ability to help lead the FACE 2010 Conference – a youth conference held at Bucknell University for high school students to participate in a mock House of Representatives, strictly dealing with agricultural issues. It was great to see all the fresh ideas coming out of the student’s minds. Even though I still may be young in my agricultural career, it is nice to see that we have these young faces that are just as invigorated about promoting agriculture as I am.
