The majority of Farm Bureau members belong just for insurance purposes. Few of us require our insurance company to hold the same political views we hold. And in the United States we encourage businesses such as Farm Bureau to thrive. Also, Farm Bureau makes some policy stands that are helpful to independent farmers as well as corporate agriculture.

Many of us, however, would refuse to do business with a company that is actively working to destroy our livelihood and way of life. How each member should respond to Farm Bureau and its NAIS policy is no easy answer. Each member must decide if the insurance benefits warrant continuing as a Farm Bureau member.

If you decide to leave Farm Bureau, what are your insurance alternatives? Any independent insurance agent can provide information, and quotations, on auto and farm insurance. Crop insurance is unique, and you can obtain information from the Risk Management Agency of the USDA and other sources. Crop insurance is always provided through government programs. For all other types of insurance, farmers and ranchers find coverage the same way other self-employed people find it. Some people receive health insurance through a spouse, for example, and alumni or professional organizations you belong to may have insurance plans. Many farming magazines have ads offering insurance options. Two options popular with farmers are Grange and National Farmers Union (NFU), so be aware that both Grange and NFU support a federally run animal identification program.

If you’re set on not doing business with any insurance company related to Farm Bureau, you’ll have to do some legwork. According to the research by Prairie Rivers, insurance companies that have been associated with Farm Bureau include not only companies with the words Farm Bureau in their names, but also companies with these words in their names: American Agricultural Insurance, Country (when used as an affiliate of the Country Companies), Farm Family, Western Community Insurance, FBL Financial, Western Agricultural Insurance, EquiTrust Life Insurance, Universal Assurors Life Insurance, Nodak Mutual Insurance, Rural Mutual Insurance, and Tennessee Farmer’s. The names may have changed since this list was created, so do your research to be sure a company isn’t affiliated with Farm Bureau.

If Farm Bureau’s support for the NAIS and corporate agriculture leads you to end your membership, you have some work ahead of you to replace the insurance and advocacy benefits the organization provides. If you continue membership in Farm Bureau and hope to change its policy, you also have work ahead of you. The choice is yours. Hopefully you are now in a position to make an informed choice.

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Karin Bergener is an attorney living in Freedom, Ohio, a former member of the board of directors of the Portage County, Ohio, Farm Bureau, and co-founder of Liberty Ark Coalition. This article appeared in the Holiday 2006 issue of Rural Heritage.