FORT DODGE, Iowa - After organizing an event last year to teach Iowa's urban legislators about agriculture issues, Rep. Helen Miller, D-Fort Dodge, plans to take her approach to a national level.
Miller hopes to bring 50 legislators from around the country to Des Moines July 12-14 for the first national Urban-Ag Academy "so when they legislate on behalf or rural issues or concerns, they are informed about them," she said.
The gathering is also intended to teach the value, or impacts, that agriculture has on urban districts.
Miller started the academy because she saw a growing number of legislators coming from urban areas, creating a disconnect between them and rural residents. Minority groups, like farmers, tend to not be included in discussions or have their issues understood, she said.
Miller, the ranking member on the Iowa House of Representative's Agriculture Committee, understood the importance of resolving the disconnect because of her own experiences in a minority population.
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"I'm the minority," she said. "I'm the first black person on the ag committee in Iowa."
Miller, an attorney, says she has been learning about the agriculture industry ever since she moved to Iowa 13 years ago. She visited ethanol plants, got behind the wheel of a combine and attended meetings.
She wanted to be on the agriculture committee because her district lies in a region that relies heavily on agriculture.
The first Urban-Ag Academy was held Nov. 12 for a statewide audience in Ankeny with support from the agriculture industry. Approximately 20 Iowa legislators attended.
