Iowa Farm Bureau Federation

“The organization has members. Any person may be a county Farm Bureau member. All county Farm Bureau members have voting rights and the same access to member benefits.”

“The organizations members elect the Board of Directors.”

“Certain rights are reserved to members of the organization, including: 1) elect the Board of Directors, including the voting delegate to the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, 2) adopt amendments to the Articles of Incorporation, and 3) adopt amendments to those bylaws designated as member bylaws.”

“Management reviews the documents and presents the return to all members of the governing body. Following final board approval, the return is signed by an officer and submitted to the IRS.”

“On an annual basis, all officers, directors, and key employees are required to sign a statement which affirms that they have: 1) received a copy of the conflict of interest policy, 2) read and understood the policy, 3) agreed to comply with the policy, 4) understand that the Organization is tax-exempt and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish its tax-exempt purpose. A sub-committee, comprised of non-conflicted Board of Directors, annually receives all conflict of interest information, reviews, and determines if there are conflicts of interest. The committee then reports its findings back to the Board.”

“The Organization does not make its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, or financial statements available for public inspection. Pursuant to state law, some documents may be available to members.”

“Part III, Line 4a - Education and AITC - The Education Outreach Program Coordinators provided lesson plans for students and teachers to incorporate agriculture into the classrooms, including community outreach throughout the summer, through their blog, and Facebook page. The Education Outreach Program reached 3,330 students, grades Pre-K-12, in 171 different classrooms with over 468 lessons taught. Along with in-person and virtual classroom visits, the Education Outreach Program of the Linn County Farm Bureau organized a two-day workshop for local educators and teachers to provide lessons and resources they could incorporate into their classroom curriculum.”

“Part III, Line 4b - Policy Development - The County Farm Bureau asked members to surface and prioritize issues that are important to local agricultural operations. They then created an opinionnaire to be distributed to the membership to gauge the importance of local, state, and national issues. The County Farm Bureau developed county resolutions of importance to be delivered by the Voting Delegate to the state delegate body. Member leaders also engaged with local, state, and national elected officials to lobby for the policies important to the agricultural community.”

“Part III, Line 4c - County Promotions - Linn County Farm Bureau donated to the Linn County Fair. They also held their membership appreciation dinner at the fair for their members and others. Sandwiches, sides, chips, and dessert were available for the members to eat with their family for free. Also available were games and prizes for the children provided by the Ag in the Classroom program.”

“Brett Brannaman and Michael Brannaman have a family relationship.”