American Farm Bureau Federation will continue working with lawmakers on items needed to be addressed in the 2018 farm bill but they?ll be without a well-known Iowa native next month. Mary Kay Thatcher formerly of Norwalk, will retire from Farm Bureau after 31 years.
?This is my eighth farm bill I?ve been working on for about a year or so and I?m not growing as much as I like so I?m going to retire from Farm Bureau at the end of the month and find somewhere else where I can make a difference,? Thatcher says.
Thatcher says she?ll miss the people.
?I just don?t think there is a greater group of people to work for than farmers and ranchers. You ask them to make a call, come to DC, they are willing to do that. They are so willing to try to help themselves,? Thatcher says.
She says she might not be a lobbyist in her next job but she enjoyed walking the halls of congress.
?Sometimes I?m frustrated. I think I enjoyed the way our congressional process worked 25 years ago than I do now, but it is still the best system in the world,? Thatcher says.
WRDN?s Brian Winnekins caught up with her at the AFBF annual convention in Nashville earlier this week.
