For the past two winters, students enrolled in a special 2- credit follow-up course to the University of Idaho’s Agricultural Policy 356 have come to Boise to see how concepts and conflicts, facts and feelings, high ideals and bottom lines become law.

Photo on left: In the Capitol Gallery, UI agricultural policy students discuss their experiences in Boise while awaiting the day’s convening of the Idaho Legislature.

“Some would say that seeing policy being made is sort of like seeing sausage being made,” says Jim Nelson, professor of agricultural economics and policy, “but there’s no other way to fully explain to students in the classroom how these things happen. It’s a major part of our whole democratic process. It’s how things get done—from water districts all the way to the federal level.”

The legislative policy field trip owes its full agenda of carefully planned learning experiences to agricultural industry leaders Rick Waitley and Brad Hoaglun and to student assistant Mauri Brooks. Participants have voted so enthusiastically with their feet that Nelson and colleague Chris McIntosh of Idaho Falls will need to cap enrollment next year.

This past January, 22 students from Moscow and Idaho Falls immersed themselves in the lawmaking process in Boise:

On Day 1, they toured the Capitol, met with elected state officials, heard how legislative committees work, had lunch with agricultural association leaders, attended committee meetings with ag lobbyists, and dined with legislators.

On Day 2, they ate breakfast with ag lobbyists, visited the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, and met with leaders of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On

Day 3, they learned about issues facing Idaho’s ag industries from the Food Producers of Idaho and were introduced to the services of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture during a lunch with its director.

“I thought college was busy,” said Anne Konen, an agribusiness/ag education junior from Lewiston. “It’s nothing compared to how much we’re doing down here.”

Junior agribusiness major Kent Bitter of Shelley, who farms several thousand acres and heads the Shelley School Board, was intrigued by the process of finding middle ground from extremes taken by attorneys. The volume of bills, “tiny word adjustments,” and “day-today things” that face Idaho legislators also amazed him.

“It’s impressive—the hours and speed at which they move through things,” agreed Lindy Hill, ag economics senior from Baker, OR. “It’s definitely more intense than I had anticipated. I think they’re doing a lot better job than most people realize.”

Hill’s interests are international trade and policy, Bitter may teach school some day, and Konen is exploring work in lobbying or agricultural literacy.

“No matter what we do, we all want to educate people about agriculture,” says Hill. “We realize how threatened it is and how little people understand about it. I think that’s one of the biggest things that motivates people to take a course like this.”

McIntosh, whose agribusiness majors have doubled to 20 during the past year of the four-year-old bachelor’s degree program in Idaho Falls, considers the class invaluable. “If you want to influence policy, you first have to know how it’s made and who is making it,” he says.

© 2002 University of Idaho, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.