We all know about lobbyists, right? Special interest groups and high-priced lobbying firms wining and dining politicians on behalf of this industry or that company in order to sway public policy. These are the people every new political figure swears they are against when they are trying to get elected. That’s what I thought, anyway, after living in the DC Metro area and working for a trade association or two. But this week, I got to see a different side of lobbying.

You see, I spent Monday and Tuesday in Albany, tagging along with the Chenango County Farm Bureau during the New York Farm Bureau’s annual Lobby Days. The experience opened my eyes both in terms of the ins and outs of lobbying and the issues our diverse agriculture industry is facing.

These lobbyists weren’t the “suits” I’d always seen in DC. These were people straight off their farms, orchards and vineyards intent on telling their legislators exactly how it is in the agriculture industry. They were passionate and spoke from the heart about their livelihoods and the challenges they face as they struggle to keep their farms (and New York) growing.

I had never before thought of farmers as a “special interest group,” but of course when I thought about it, it made sense. Agriculture is, after all, New York’s largest industry. Why shouldn’t their interests be paramount in the minds of our state leaders?