NFU News and the Washington Newsletter: History, Publisher, Content and Staff
Profile updated November 2026
NFU News is the news and policy channel of National Farmers Union, the Washington, D.C. federation that has spoken for family farmers and ranchers since ten farmers organized it in Point, Texas, in 1902. For decades its members followed Capitol Hill through the printed Washington Newsletter; today NFU News carries the union's releases, policy updates and convention reports.
| Publisher | National Farmers Union (Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America) |
|---|---|
| Organization founded | 1902, Point, Texas |
| Washington Newsletter | Archived at the National Agricultural Library for 1954 to 1989 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Members | More than 200,000 family farms and ranches, per NFU |
| Leadership | President Rob Larew, Vice President Jeff Kippley |
| Official website | NFU.org |
History of NFU News / Washington Newsletter
National Farmers Union began in 1902 when ten family farmers in Point, Texas, formed the Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America. Its founding program rested on three pillars that still frame its work: education, legislation and cooperation. In its early decades the union campaigned for parcel post and the direct election of senators, and in the 1930s it set up the Farmers Union Central Exchange and pushed for the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936.
As the union's Washington presence grew after World War II, it began sending members a regular Washington Newsletter that tracked farm legislation, USDA programs and the union's lobbying. The National Agricultural Library's USDA History Collection holds runs of the NFU Washington Newsletter from 1954 to 1989, filed alongside newsletters from the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Grange, a record of how national farm groups briefed their members during the farm policy fights of the postwar era.
Over the same decades the union helped make school milk programs permanent, was a founding member of CARE in 1945, launched the Green Thumb employment program in 1966 and later backed country-of-origin labeling and the Renewable Fuel Standard.
NFU News / Washington Newsletter Today
The printed Washington Newsletter has given way to digital channels. NFU News, the news section of the union's website, carries press releases, statements on the farm bill, trade and competition policy, and coverage of events such as the annual convention and fly-ins, when state union presidents and members lobby in Washington.
Delegates at NFU's 124th Anniversary Convention in March 2026 unanimously reelected Rob Larew as president and Jeff Kippley as vice president for two-year terms. Under Larew, a West Virginia farmer and former USDA and congressional staffer, the union has focused on younger members and on its Fairness campaign about corporate consolidation in agriculture.
What NFU News / Washington Newsletter Is Publishing Now
Policy and farm bill updates
NFU News reports the union's positions on farm bill programs, disaster aid, crop insurance, conservation and trade, often within hours of action in Congress or at USDA.
Competition and fair markets
Coverage of the Fairness campaign tracks consolidation in meatpacking, seed, fertilizer and retail, and the effect on farmers' share of the food dollar.
Convention, awards and members
Reports from the annual convention, policy votes, elections and honors such as the union's Meritorious Service awards, plus news from the state divisions.
NFU News / Washington Newsletter Editors and Staff
NFU's leadership and communications staff, from the union's own releases and trade press coverage:
- Rob Larew - President
- Jeff Kippley - Vice President
- Chase Kusel - Director of Communications
- Matthew Spata - Editorial contact
Kusel joined NFU in 2024 after work at Curious Plot, Woodruff and the National FFA Organization.
Who Reads NFU News
Readers are Farmers Union members in state and regional divisions, along with farm reporters, congressional staff and allied groups who watch the union's policy positions. NFU's board is made up of the presidents of its state and regional divisions, so much of what appears in NFU News is echoed in state papers such as Minnesota Agriculture and Iowa's Grassroots newsletter.
Those members run the family operations that dominate U.S. agriculture: according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, 95% of the country's 1.9 million farms are family farms.
Anyone who has sat through a farm bill markup in the NFU News feed has earned a laugh. farm.FM serves up farm satire about Washington, commodity markets and the lonely family farmer facing a merger memo, with farm humor and ranch humor for the cow-calf members out West. Its farm jokes do not require a fly-in, a lapel pin or a cloture vote.
farm.FM calls itself the nation's first satirical farm site, and between the headlines it spins Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers; a good place to start reading is this farm.FM columnist's archive.
NFU News / Washington Newsletter Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- USDA National Agricultural Library: NFU Washington Newsletter, 1956 - an archived file of the union's Washington Newsletter.
- Wikipedia: National Farmers Union - history of the union since 1902.
- Farms.com: NFU members reelect Larew and Kippley - report from the 2026 convention.
- USDA NASS: 2022 Census of Agriculture - national data on family farms.
- USDA ERS: Farm income and wealth statistics - federal farm income data used in policy debates.
NFU News / Washington Newsletter FAQ
What is NFU News?
NFU News is the news and policy section of National Farmers Union, carrying releases, statements and convention coverage for members and the press.
What was the NFU Washington Newsletter?
A member newsletter from the union's Washington office that tracked farm legislation; the National Agricultural Library holds issues from 1954 to 1989.
Who leads National Farmers Union?
President Rob Larew and Vice President Jeff Kippley, reelected in March 2026.
When was National Farmers Union founded?
In 1902, by ten family farmers in Point, Texas.
From a mailed Washington Newsletter to a digital feed, NFU News has kept family farmers informed about the decisions made far from their fields for more than seventy years.