GET INFORMED
RESOURCES FOR BECOMING AN INFORMED VOTER
To vote for candidates who support family farmers, you’ll need to know your candidates and what they stand for. It helps to understand what our agriculture and food policy landscape looks like.
Know your district
All elections matter, but swing districts and swing states get more media attention during elections because a small percentage of voters determine their outcome and they can impact the overall results of state or national elections. Candidates who want to win swing voters or are in a tight race must listen to a wide range of voters, not just voters from their base.
- Sign up for your legislators’ email lists, follow them on social media and check out their websites to get updates on your district and to see what they’re championing.
- Tune into your local news media – TV, radio and print – to hear about local elections, candidates and what issues people are talking about.
- Check out national news media for coverage of your federal legislators’ actions in Congress. Politico is a good place to start, or try a Google News search for your legislators’ names.
These are the elected officials that really need to hear from farm advocates and farmers.
- Check to see if your federal representatives serve on the House or Senate agriculture committees. These are the policymakers who create our federal agriculture policy.
- Check to see if your federal representatives serve on the House or Senate appropriations committees. These are the policymakers who determine how federal funds are spent and also play an important role in agricultural policy.
- Most states also have their own committee(s) that addresses agricultural issues – look up “[YOUR STATE] + agriculture committee” to see if your representative is working on agriculture issues! If your representatives are on one of these committees, it’s their job to create agriculture and food policy in your state.
Know your candidates
- Check out Vote411, Vote Smart, or Ballotpedia
- Visit your candidates’ campaign websites to learn about what they’re running for and the policies they support.
- Attend debates and watch interviews with candidates to learn more about their positions.
- Look at candidates’ endorsements to see if they are endorsed by organizations and individuals whose values align with yours.
- Not sure who’s even running? See STEP 1 →
Govtrack shows each state’s senators, representatives and congressional districts, as well as those individuals’ voting history and bill sponsorship.
Learn about the issues
- National Family Farm Coalition →
- National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
- National Young Farmers Coalition
- Rural Coalition →
- HEAL Food Alliance →
- National Black Food & Justice Alliance →
- Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
- Union of Concerned Scientists →
- American Farmland Trust → & Farmland Info Center →
- Against the Grain (Farm Aid)
- Landed (American Farmland Trust)
- Young Farmers Podcast
- Agrarian Futures
- The Only Thing that Lasts (Offrange)
Important context
Understand the upcoming policy events that will impact farmers in the near future and how you can advocate for them through these moments.
- One of the most important upcoming pieces of legislation is the next Farm Bill. It’s a complicated piece of legislation, but we have a comprehensive resource for understanding the farm bill and keeping track of what’s happening with it. →
- Follow our Farm Bill Updates to stay up to date on how the farm bill is progressing and what actions you can take! →
A representative’s voting record on farm bill-related legislation can reveal their priorities and how they may vote in the future.
- How current House members voted on the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026.
- Pay close attention to what amendments members offered and how they voted – this can tell you what agriculture issues they care about specifically.
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