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Junior and Senior level Ag Bus. | |Colorado Agriscience Curriculum

|Section: |Advanced Agribusiness |

|Unit: |Agriculture Issues |

|Lesson Title: |Getting Involved: Agricultural Politics |

|Colorado Ag Education Standards| |

|and Competencies |AGB11/12.02 - The student will be able to communicate a knowledge of current agricultural issues. |

| | |

| |Identify government legislation and regulations and their effects on agriculture. |

| | |

|Colorado Model Content |English Standard 1: Students read and understand a variety of materials. |

|Standard(s): | |

| |English Standard 4: Students apply thinking skills to their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and |

| |viewing |

| | |

| |English Standard 5: Students read to locate, select, and make use of relevant information from a variety of |

| |media, reference, and technological sources. |

|Student Learning Objectives: |As a result of this lesson, the student will: |

| |Understand the importance of policymakers in agriculture. |

| |Describe the steps necessary to become involved in agriculture politics. |

| |Understand the careers and opportunities available in agriculture politics. |

|Time: |One 50 minute lesson |

|Resource(s): | |

| | |

|Instructions, Tools, Equipment,|Projector and laptop or copies of notes on overhead. |

|and Supplies: |Materials for taking notes. |

| |Copies of Lobbyist Activity, one per student. |

| |Access to computer with internet, one per group of two students. |

|Interest Approach: |Read the following excerpt and allow discussion about the view of politicians in the US. |

| |Years ago, a polling agency which samples public opinion at the national level asked the fathers and mothers |

| |of the nation whether they would like to see a son or daughter pursue a political career. The answer was a |

| |resounding, unanimous "no" and the reason assigned was that it was a corrupt, dishonest, immoral field of |

| |endeavor which could only defile one who entered that domain. |

| |Suggested discussion questions: |

| |Would you ever become involved in agricultural politics? |

| |Would you respect someone who did? |

| |Is there a need for those with an agricultural background to become involved in politics? Why or why not? |

| |When you stereotype the typical politician, what do you see? Can you be a force for change? |

| |What are many politicians with rural jurisdiction lacking? |

| |What qualities of a good leader/policy maker do you have? |

|Objective 1: |Understand the importance of policymakers in agriculture. |

| |Project slides 1-4, allowing students to take notes in their notebook. |

| |Great job in discussing the pro’s and con’s of becoming a policy maker, or politician. We must also remember|

| |that politicians are here to serve the American people and in theory they should all put their personal |

| |agendas aside. |

| |Please capture the notes in your notebook as I project them on the board. |

| |What is a politician? |

| |A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who|

| |influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. |

| |So, who is an agricultural politician? |

| |Those people that are involved in creating or enforcing policy related to the food, fiber, and natural |

| |resource system. They have a passion for agriculture and a passion for serving others. |

| |Why do we need policymakers in agriculture? |

| |Rural politicians and those concerned with agriculture. |

| |Protect the rights of farmers and ranchers. |

| |Bring a voice to the table when setting prices, rules, and ideas, all done on behalf of local agriculturists |

| |(represent). |

| |Often bring common-sense to lawmaking. |

| |Improve the economy via agriculture products. |

| |Promote pride in Colorado agriculture and the products we produce. |

| |Assist with trade discussion over-seas. |

| |As you can see, the necessity of agriculturists in policy-making is essential. They are our voice to the |

| |rest of the world. Have you thought about a career in politics? How can you get involved at your age? |

|Objective 2: |Describe the steps necessary to become involved in agriculture politics. |

| |Project slide 5. Feel free to add additional notes. |

| |Interest in government/law/agriculture. |

| |Get educated! (law degree, communications, agriculture, etc.) |

| |Start small and start young! Don’t expect to start at the top of the ladder but work your way up. |

|Objective 3: |Understand the careers and opportunities available in agriculture politics. |

| |When you think of someone involved in agriculture politics, who is it that you see? Is it the county |

| |commissioner, the President of the United States, or someone between those two positions? Allow time for |

| |discussion. |

| |In fact, there are millions of jobs involved in agriculture policy, whether those jobs are working for the |

| |USDA, the CDC, or as a Congressman or woman. There are two types of careers in politics, and we will spend a|

| |few minutes discussing each of them. |

| |Project slides 6-8. |

| |Careers in Ag. Politics: |

| |Administrative Fields: |

| |Positions that must be filled and you are put into position via your job skills or a recommendation by |

| |someone “higher-up”. |

| |Provide support and guidance for elected officials. |

| |Includes over 9.5 million people that are paid by the government (federal, state, and local). |

| |Elective Fields: |

| |Elected by the voters. |

| |Your job is to represent the people. |

| |You are at the mercy of the American public to keep your job. |

| |Sample Careers in the Administrative Sector: |

| |Secretary of Agriculture. |

| |Foreign Relations Diplomats. |

| |Ag. Lawyers. |

| |Lobbyists. |

| |Can you name others? |

| |Sample Careers in the Elected Sector: |

| |County Commissioner. |

| |State Representative. |

| |State or National Senate. |

| |State or National House of Representatives. |

| |President of the United States> |

| |So, I guess the question remains: why would you not want to be involved in the decision making process for |

| |American agriculture? Do not let the word “politician” deceive you…your number one job would be to create |

| |policy for the American people that would benefit the majority. If you are interested in a career as an |

| |agriculture politician, and trust me, we need more of them in government, let me know after class and I can |

| |help get you started on the right track! |

|Review/Summary: |Use a “Go Get It Moment” to allow students to review the information. Have them find something in the |

| |classroom that relates to agriculture politics and bring it back to their desk. Have them share. Hopefully |

| |the kinesthetic learner will remember the object and tie it to the lesson. Examples: American flag (serving|

| |the American people), tie (professionalism), or a dictionary (make intelligent case as a lobbyist). |

|Application--Extended Classroom|Take the advanced ag. business class to Denver for a day to meet with law-makers. If you live on the Western|

|Activity: |Slope, I believe Mountain Plains Farm Credit will help you organize and finance this day in Denver. |

| |Expand on the lobbyist activity to encourage students to create a lobbying speech for an issue related to |

| |agriculture. Have them choose a topic and present it to a “congressman” in the class. This is a great way |

| |to promote communication and decision-making skills, as well as the art of persuasiveness. |

|Application--FFA Activity: |Encourage students to take a stance in the Prepared Public Speaking CDE whereby they may become advocates for|

| |agriculture. They could even use this opportunity to present to their local law-makers an issue facing |

| |agriculturists in their area. |

|Application--SAE Activity: |Encourage students to shadow a law-maker one day in Denver to discover the daily routine of someone in |

| |politics. Use these hours for an exploratory SAE. |

| |Encourage students to apply as a congressional aide during their summer following high school graduation. |

|Evaluation: |Use a verbal review to ask and assess the learning of the student. |

| |What are the two general areas of agriculture policy-making careers? |

| |What two things must agriculture politicians have passions for? |

| |Name the three steps in becoming involved in agriculture politics? |

| |What is lobbying? |

|Evaluation Answer Key: |Administrative and elected officials. |

| |Serving others and agriculture. |

| |Interest, education, and start small/young. |

| |Lobbying is an effort to influence legislatures on a specific action item. |

|Other: |Have students complete the lobbyist worksheet as an extra activity. Put students into pairs to work on |

| |computers with internet potential. |

Lobbyist Activity

Name:

Date:

One of the neatest careers tying agriculture to politics is through the use of lobbyists. These people are hired by a group of individuals to plead their case to the policy-makers at both the state and national level. You can hire a lobbyist to fight your cause for you, and hopefully change the law in your favor.

Use the following website to complete this activity



1. What is the definition of lobbying?

2. Where did the term “lobbyist” come from?

a.

b.

3. How does corruption tie into lobbying?

4. What do you feel comfortable lobbying for when it comes to agriculture?

5. Make your case for this issue in agriculture (pretend you are presenting to a congresswoman):

a. Allowing xenotransplants: (use of animal organs to save human lives)

Lobbyist Activity Answer Key

Name:

Date:

Use the following website to complete this activity



1. What is the definition of lobbying?

Lobbying is a concerted effort designed to achieve some result, typically from government authorities and elected officials. It can consist of the private cajoling of legislative members, public, or combinations of both public and private actions.

2. Where did the term “lobbyist” come from?

a. One story states that the term originated at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, where it was used by Ulysses S. Grant to describe the political wheelers and dealers frequenting the hotel's lobby in order to access Grant who was often found there, enjoying a cigar and brandy.

b. The term "lobbying" more likely originates from the British Parliament, where the term was in use in the 1840s.[1] Members of the British Public can go to the Parliament's Central Lobby and request to meet with their representative Member of Parliament.

3. How does corruption tie into lobbying?

Lobbying is sometimes performed on behalf of organizations which also make campaign contributions. This has led to allegations of corruption by opponents of some lobbying organizations. Some politicians have been known to make bad decisions and some have been found in apparently compromising positions because of their need to solicit financial contributions for their campaigns.

4. What do you feel comfortable lobbying for when it comes to agriculture?

Answers will vary.

5. Make your case for this issue in agriculture (pretend you are presenting to a congresswoman):

a. Allowing xenotransplants: (use of animal organs to save human lives).

Answers will vary.

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