By Charlie Elrod, NEAFA Vice-President
It’s that time of year again when we all need to renew our membership in NEAFA. Without our members, our voice in support of agriculture in the Northeast would be silenced. We have several very important issues about which we will be actively advocating including transportation, litigation finance, insurance, extended producer responsibility and the TEMP act to name a few. These are all issues which affect our members’ businesses directly as well as those of our customers. And by collaborating closely in our advocacy efforts with NY Farm Bureau, Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance, the Trucking Association of NY and Cornell’s College of Ag & Life Sciences we multiply and unify our voices in the hallways where regulation and legislation happen.
It really is crucial to grow our member base so that we remain relevant for our members and the industry we serve. I would challenge each of you reading this newsletter to page through the membership directory, thinking about who within your sphere of influence is not listed there. I am confident that several of your suppliers, lenders, insurers, equipment dealers, etc. are not members. Make a point to reach out and invite them to join NEAFA this year. They could join as an Individual Membership for only $100. Or better yet, join as their company and support our mission with their $500 membership fee. Feel free to send them this link once you’ve convinced them to join!
Based on member feedback and the thoughtful efforts of the Membership Committee, last year we adopted a simplified membership structure which is much less complicated and more fair to all members. As mentioned above, $500 will cover two people from any feed manufacturer, supplier or service provider company. Individual members, who may be public servants, producers or other ag supporters, can join for $100. Academics and researchers can also join for $100. With any of these membership levels come voting rights and the ability to serve on any NEAFA committee or the board of directors.
Your 2025 membership invoice has recently been sent out through the PayPal payment system. You do not need a PayPal account to pay directly online with your credit card. Or, you can print your invoice and mail it back to NEAFA with your check. Today our member directory lists 219 individuals as members. If we ALL get on the membership committee and recruit a few more members, I’m confident we can grow this to 300 by this time next year. We all owe it to the incredible agriculture industry that we serve to make sure this is a vibrant and growing alliance.