Lindsey Worden of Holstein USA has been serving as a guest blogger for her time at YDLI (Young Dairy Leaders Institute) – here is her final report, along with some photos!

YDLI Day 3 – “Taking it Home to Elected Officials”

The final day of YDLI Phase III was centered completely on understanding the political process. In order to be able to affect policy, it is important to understand how it is formed.

The morning began with the basics – how a bill becomes a law, the differences between the House of Representatives and the Senate, and some fundamentals of how to influence the law-making process. This was led by Holstein Foundation Programs Manager Jodi Hoynoski, Chandler Goule, YDLI Class 5 alum and Staff Director of the House Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry, and Charlie Garrison, President of the Garrison Group, LLC. The three combined have a great deal of experience working in Washington, D.C. for the dairy industry.

After laying out the basics, it was time for the class to test their knowledge and gain a greater understanding through an interactive exercise. The participants were divided into two groups – representing the House of Representatives and Senate, assigned a party and a specific role to play, and given the task of debating, voting on, and passing a Dairy Commission Bill. The House and Senate voted separately, then a Conference Committee came together to work out the details of the bill. The session was a great chance to more about the political process from the experts, and even those that didn’t necessarily have strong interest in politics were able to learn some new information. If farmers aren’t willing to take steps to create change, it is certain that others will, so it’s important to have an understanding of how public policy works, and how to have an influence on it.

At lunch, Jerry Jennissen, Brooten, Minn., was recognized as the 2008 YDLI Distinguished Alumni Leader Award recipient. Jennissen is a graduate of Class 1, and the eighth recipient of this honor since the program began in 1994.

Michele Payn-Knoper closed the final session, empowering class members to develop a take-home plan for the group of how they could continue their work and have an impact on the dairy industry. The YDLIers summed it up by developing a Class 6 mission statement, resolving to stay connected and involved. With great minds and passion for the industry, there’s little doubt that this exciting group of young people will continue to have a real impact on the industry in the future!

Of course, the class could not go home without “celebrating their ride” with a Final Fiesta! Following the close of the last session, the group headed out to the world-famous El Pinto Restaurant in Albuquerque for a night of great fun, food, and fellowship with their classmates. The evening began with a chili cook-off, pitting seven teams against each other to see who could brew up the best authentic New Mexican chili! Not only did the teams have to work together to create the tastiest food – they also had to come up with a team name, decorate their aprons and chefs’ hats to match, and come up with a song or skit to perform when presenting their creation to the judges! You would have thought that after three days of intensive learning that the groups creative juices would have been zapped, but that was definitely not the case! After the cook-off winners were declared, everyone sat down for a final meal together, enjoying some delicious enchiladas and other authentic New Mexican cuisine.

For more information on the YDLI program or the Holstein Foundation, visit www.holsteinfoundation.org or contact Jodi Hoynoski at 800.952.5200, ext. 4261.

YDLI Class 6!

Dawn Mausser, IA, tries to convince Holstein Association USA Vice-President Larry Tande to join her group during an exercise on “working the room”

YDLI Coach Michele Payn-Knoper looks over Johnathan Chamberlin’s shoulder as he receives his role for the mock board meeting

Kathryn Higgs, OR, Becky Heimerl, WI, and Chris Connelly, PA, answer audience questions during the mock town meeting

Holstein Foundation Programs Manager Jodi Hoynoski, Maggie Jennissen, 2008 Distinguished YDLI Alumni Leader Jerry Jennissen, Linda Jennissen, and Holstein Foundation Trustees Chairman Chuck Worden

World-famous El Pinto Restaurant – site of the class’ Final Fiesta!

Teams working hard to try to cook the best chili!

Scott Silviera, CA, works hard to saute his veggies

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 1:44 pm by lwright and is filed under Guest Blogger Series. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.