Conejos county member James Henderson has been hard at work over the summer months, representing Colorado Farm Bureau in AFBF’s PAL program. The Partners in Advocacy Leadership (PAL) program creates advocates for agriculture and accelerates the personal development for engaged members of our organization.

Henderson has participated in several training trips to complete the curriculum of the PAL program and improve his leadership and advocacy skills. The PAL class attended training in Washington D.C. at AFBF’s headquarters, met with President Duvall and other Farm Bureau staff and leaders. Class members honed their interview skills and were briefed on current policy issues.  The class also attended meetings on Capitol Hill with staffers from the Senate Ag Committee and with the U.S. Trade Representative. Participants also attended dinner with executives from Bayer.

On a trip to New York City, the class met with the Wall Street Journal editorial board and worked on honing their media relations and interview skills. They also took a tour of Bloomberg News and met with reporters covering the agriculture beat.

“Getting to see the newsrooms at the Wall Stree Journal and Bloomberg was eye-opening,” said Henderson. “It was great to better understand how the two organizations cover news differently, and how their business models are different.”

The next training module will focus on improving the class’s stakeholder engagement and industry relations skills. Henderson says they will meet with representatives and industry professionals from Bayer, Elanco, and other industry groups and companies.

Henderson says he’s enjoying building on the skills he learned as Conejos County Farm Bureau President and a member of Colorado Farm Bureau’s Elite Leadership Academy.