NEW YORK (May 26, 2009)—Members of The Hand That Feeds U.S. gathered in New York City last Thursday and Friday for face-to-face meetings with urban journalists, including reporters from the New York Times, CNN, FOX News and Marketplace radio.

“We met with media outlets that have not always been favorable to production agriculture or farm policy, but that’s the whole point of this campaign,” said former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest. “These meetings went a long way in building a lasting relationship with key reporters and ensuring they have accurate information about America’s farmers at their fingertips.”

Combest was joined by Linda Raun and Steve Verett, Texas-based growers who were able to talk to the reporters about their own experiences in the industry. Both Raun and Verett manage family-owned and operated farms.

“I think they [reporters] were able to see that farmers are just regular folks,” said Raun. “It’s not a faceless, corporate agribusiness; it’s a family out there producing the food they eat and the clothes they wear.”

While in New York, Raun visited a Whole Foods store in Manhattan’s Union Square to find her family brand of rice—Lowell Farms—stocked on the shelf. She used this fact to illustrate the importance of Texas farmers to New Yorkers in subsequent reporter briefings.

But Verett explained that reporters weren’t the only ones to take away valuable information from the trip.

“We learned a lot about the reporting business and the tremendous pressures journalists have to deal with every day,” the cotton grower said. “We also got to see that behind the bylines are real people who want to do the best and fairest job possible. It’s up to agriculture to make sure they stay informed on our issues.”

New York City is the first stop in a series of urban media tours—other stops will include Chicago, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles—where The Hand That Feeds U.S. representatives will spread their message about the benefits of U.S. agriculture.