Ag Labor Review: Why political insurance, engagement today protects agriculture tomorrow

Most everything in the world today is changing — fast.

The pace of information, the volume of voices competing for attention and the speed at which opinions form can make it feel nearly impossible to keep up. That reality is familiar to anyone in agriculture, where long days, multiple responsibilities and constant uncertainty are simply part of the job.

Being busy has always been normal in agriculture. What is not new — but is increasingly risky — is allowing advocacy to fall to the bottom of the chore list. Advocacy for yourself. For your business. For your industry. When time is scarce, it is often the first thing postponed and the last thing revisited.

Perhaps the problem is the word itself. “Advocacy” can feel abstract, time-consuming or disconnected from daily realities. So what is it? Advocacy is the act of publicly supporting or arguing for a specific cause, policy issue or individual. If this sounds like you, you’re an advocate.

To be successful, advocates need something called political insurance — a tool that helps them become the most effective advocates possible.

What is political insurance?

Producers understand insurance. Crop insurance, equipment insurance, life insurance — each is a relatively small, ongoing investment made not because disaster is guaranteed, but because risk is inevitable.

The value of insurance is not measured on the day the premium is paid — it’s measured the day it is needed. Political insurance operates on the same principle. Political insurance is built through consistent engagement: participating in associations, staying informed, showing up in conversations and maintaining a presence in the policy process. No single phone call, meeting or email moves policy on its own. Over time, however, these small actions accumulate. Engagement builds familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. And trust builds influence.

That’s where engagement transforms into long-term political value. When agriculture is consistently engaged, decision-makers do not encounter the industry for the first time during a crisis. They already know who producers are, what they contribute and why their perspective matters. The result is not special treatment — it’s informed decision-making that reflects real-world impacts. That’s the return on investment political insurance provides.

Turning influence into impact

The challenge, of course, is that agriculture is also changing, and it isn’t making advocacy any easier. The industry is shrinking in numbers, aging demographically and representing a smaller share of the population than it once did. Meanwhile, public opinion is increasingly shaped by short-form digital media, fast-moving narratives and voices far removed from the day-to-day reality of production agriculture.

These trends mean that silence carries more risk than ever before. If agriculture is not engaged, others will define the narrative — often without context, experience or understanding of the consequences. Political insurance, built through advocacy, prevents that vacuum. It ensures agriculture remains present, relevant and credible in conversations that shape both policy and public perception.

Despite these challenges, agriculture holds a powerful advantage: farmers remain one of the most trusted professions in America. At a time when consumers want a closer connection to their food and greater confidence in where it comes from, growers are uniquely positioned to lead. That trust, when paired with engagement, becomes political capital that benefits the entire industry.

Political insurance isn’t about reacting when something goes wrong. It’s about preparing long before it does. It’s the steady, disciplined investment of time and attention that protects livelihoods, strengthens industries and ensures agriculture’s voice is heard when it matters most.

At this critical time for our country, farmers and agricultural employers must recognize that engagement is not a distraction from the work — it’s part of the work. Political insurance, built through consistent engagement, is what converts today’s effort into tomorrow’s long-term political value. With so much uncertainty and a growing chorus of detached voices for the industry, the National Council of Agricultural Employers will be investing early and often to ensure our voice is heard.

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John Hollay became president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) on Jan. 1, 2026. Hollay previously worked for national trade associations serving the fresh produce and dairy industries. Prior to working full time as an agricultural policy advocate, he worked as a senior legislative aide for his home state congressman from Connecticut.