Advocating For Agriculture Through Policy

By: Mary Ella Cauthen

Besides being big business, agriculture touches almost every aspect of people’s lives. From the farmer to the consumer, agriculture issues need a voice. Luckily, Russ Durrance, legislative programs director for the Alabama Farmers Federation, is one of those voices in Alabama.

His job and mission are to represent members of the Farmers Federation in public policy discussions at the Alabama State House. As a lobbyist, Durrance works to identify the most pressing issues in agriculture and advocates for policies that would help make a positive impact on it. He also gives a voice to farmers in Alabama and makes sure their needs are represented in the State House.

“When something makes it into that book,” said Durrance in reference to the legislative agenda. “We get an opportunity to go fight for it and get a win on their behalf, it is really rewarding because you feel like what you are doing has meaning, and it has meaning to people’s bottom line and their ability to continue their farm operation.”

Being a lobbyist ensures that there is no such thing as a ‘normal day’ in the office for Durrance. When the legislature meets for about three and a half months, you can find him tracking different committee meetings and working on gaining votes on certain issues for bills. Durrance says that outside of the legislative session, his job requires him to do a lot of prep work for the next legislative session.

“Our members put a lot of time, effort and thought into where they want us to be as an organization,” he said. “We are meeting and building relationships with the officials across the state…sometimes getting involved in elections. But then we really try to figure out what our priorities are, what our policies are, and what we need to be doing to prepare for the next session,” he explained.

Durrance has a clear passion for making sure farmer’s voices are heard, but he did not set out with the intention of working in politics. He explained that it was out of practicality, that he wanted to work in the ag industry.

“I really liked the College of Agriculture when I came to tour it,” he said. “I knew I wanted to stay in the Southeast, and I knew that agriculture was a massive industry, obviously here in the state of Alabama and in Georgia, Tennessee and in so many other states around here. I knew I had good career opportunities with a degree in ag business.”

After getting his degree in Agricultural Business and Economics, Durrance said he started his career in a poultry processing plant, then became a poultry service tech and then came to work for Alfa as a poultry commodity director. Eventually, he moved up to lobbying for the industry. Satisfied with the direction his career has taken, Durrance said getting to serve people is what makes his job worthwhile.

Durrance attributes several opportunities to helping him in his career path. For one, he said getting to hear guest speakers who would come talk to the students in ag business was very helpful, as the career talks allowed him to open his mind to different career options and possibilities.

“I think that it helped me understand that I needed to be well rounded as a student and well-rounded in my resume to make sure that I could be a candidate for pretty much any of those job opportunities,” he explained.

Durrance also credits the Dean of the College of Agriculture, Paul Patterson, as major influence on his studies and career.

“Dean Patterson was actually my academic advisor and was a great resource for me throughout college to visit with and bounce ideas off of,” he explained.

An active social and work life during his time at Auburn was also helpful to Durrance he said. While at Auburn, he was a part of the Alpha Gamma Rho ag fraternity. He credited the fraternity for allowing him to make connections and to meet a lot of alumni with whom he now works with. Durrance also had the pleasure of working for Tigers Unlimited in the athletics department in college.

“It was fun. I started working there a week later after I moved to Auburn, and I worked there until I graduated. Loved my job, and I enjoyed getting to do what I did,” Durrance said.

As for the things Durrance wishes he could have done differently, he stated that he wished he had been involved in more diversified types of clubs. Durrance’s advice for anyone who is interested in majoring in Agricultural Business and Economics, or really any ag related major, would be to get involved and get to know your peers in your classes.

“Utilize every connection, utilize every chance that you get to build your network. Use and build your professional network the best way that you can, but also be willing to take a risk” Durrance said.