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6 CapitalPress.com January 29, 2016 Rice: A staunch defender of farming Jim Rice, a lawyer, sees importance of healthy agricultural industry in Idaho By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — Sen. Jim Rice is not a farmer or rancher, as most chairmen of agriculture committees in the Idaho Leg- islature have been. Growing up in the Kuna area of Southwestern Idaho, he was the only male student in his freshman high school class who didn’t belong to FFA. But many of his neighbors were farmers, he moved irri- gation pipe as a youngster, and he gained an appreciation for agriculture at a young age. He still points out which crops are growing in fields to pas- sengers when driving through farm country. “Agriculture is a huge portion of our economy,” the Caldwell Republican said. “It’s something that is vital to our state’s economy, and it will remain vital.” Heading into his second session as chairman of the Idaho Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee, Rice has built a reputation as a staunch defender of farming and ranching. “Senator Rice has been re- ally supportive of agriculture and he’s a quick learner,” said Sean Ellis/Capital Press file Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell and chairman of the Idaho Senate Agri- cultural Affairs Committee, has spoken out in defense of Treasure Valley irrigators in their battle with the state. Rice, an attorney, has earned a reputation as a staunch defender of agriculture. Sen. Jim Rice Sean Ellis/Capital Press Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, is the chairman of the Idaho Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee. Rice is not afraid to use the chairman’s power to kill legislation that could harm agriculture. Sen. Jim Patrick, a Republi- can farmer from Twin Falls and an ag committee member. “I fully support him.” When it comes to agricul- ture and legislation, Rice be- lieves less is better. “Idaho’s done a good job with agriculture,” he said. “You don’t need to be doing a bunch of legislation about agriculture. In fact, if you do, you’re probably going to screw it up.” The 50-year-old lawyer was appointed to a Senate seat in March 2012 by Gov. Butch Otter. The upcoming legislative session will be his fourth full one, and he has served on the ag com- mittee every year. Rice said he welcomed the chance to chair the ag committee because “we need to make sure what we do from a policy standpoint doesn’t ... create problems for agriculture. ... It’s im- portant to get it right and keep it right and not get off into something that’s detri- mental to agriculture.” Rice said that if proposed legislation threatens to harm agriculture, he’s not afraid to use the chairman’s power to make sure it doesn’t go any- where. “If something is bad enough for agriculture that it needs to be retained in a drawer, it should be,” he said. “I think that’s one of the reasons you want an ag chair that really believes in defending agriculture. You don’t let attacks on agricul- Position: Chairman of the Idaho Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee Profession: Attorney Background: Born in Concord, Calif., raised in Southwestern Idaho Education: Juris doctor, Wil- liam Howard Taft University Family: Wife, Trish, eight children, seven grandchildren ture get heard.” Rice has backed Trea- sure Valley irrigators in their battle with the state over how flood control releases from Boise River reservoirs should be accounted for, and he was also one of the lead- ing voices in defending the Idaho Agricultural Security Act. Food Producers of Idaho Executive Assistant Benja- min Kelly said Rice under- stands rural issues and has shown an appreciation for the challenges private land- owners face on a daily basis. “Our farmers and ranch- ers have always found him willing to listen to the spe- cific needs that face agri- culture as well as act as a sounding board in matters that affect the entire state,” Kelly said. This story first appeared on Jan. 8, 2016. Agricultural voice speaks ‘farmer talk’ By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press MERIDIAN, Idaho — In eight years, Benjamin Kel- ly has gone from a former suburban kid with no farm- ing background to the lead- er of several farm organiza- tions and a major voice for Idaho agriculture. Kelly, 34, is the execu- tive director of four farm associations and lobbies at the Idaho Legislature for eight more. He’s a private consultant and president of his own firm, Kelly Associates, and serves as the executive as- sistant for Rick Waitley, executive director of Food Producers of Idaho and president of Association Management Group, which represents a several Idaho ag groups. Despite his non-farm background, “(Kelly) has been adopted by farmers as a good spokesman for agriculture,” said Meridian farmer Drew Eggers. “He’s very engaged and involved and he does a great job rep- resenting his clients in ag- riculture as a whole.” Born and raised in Me- ridian in Southwestern Ida- ho, Kelly graduated with a bachelor’s degree in po- litical science from Boise State University and in- terned with a lobbying firm at the Idaho Legislature in 2007. He was noticed by Wait- ley, who offered to help him with his resume but was secretly taking note of his abilities. Waitley offered him a job and Kelly’s first sev- eral years were spent shad- owing Waitley during his work with Idaho Ag in the Classroom and organizing the annual Idaho Ag Sum- mit and other farm-related meetings, tours and events. “Eventually I observed that he was good at one thing vital to our business — ‘farmer talk,’” Wait- ley said. “If you can’t talk ‘farmer talk’ to a produc- er, you won’t survive. Any farmer or rancher can sniff out a fake.” Waitley slowly handed some of his clients over to Kelly, who represents farm groups during the legisla- tive session on bills they’re interested in and tries to bring in farmers and ranch- ers to testify when possible. Dennis Tanikuni, assis- tant director of governmen- tal affairs for Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, said Kelly “does a lot of positive Benjamin Kelly Occupation: Private ag industry consultant, lobbyist Age: 34 Born: Meridian, Idaho Education: Bachelor’s de- gree in political science, Boise State University Family: Single work for the industry ... and I think he’ll be round for a long time.” Kelly said his biggest surprises in this career have been the high quality of the people involved in agricul- ture, and that he couldn’t see himself working with any other industry. “In other types of busi- nesses, there’s a cut-throat atmosphere; I don’t find that in agriculture,” he said. “A lot of (farmers) do a lot of stuff they don’t get paid for and they’re doing it to help out agriculture, Idaho and their community.” Kelly said his involve- ment in agriculture hap- pened by accident “but it really was a fortunate acci- dent.” He believes the biggest challenge facing agricul- ture now is the industry’s need to go on the offensive about what farmers do. “I think we need to find a way to get past just be- ing on the defensive about our practices and what we do and really ... get on the offensive and be able to get our message out there,” he said. This story first ap- peared on Oct. 16, 2015. Sean Ellis/Capital Press Benjamin Kelly, a consultant and lobbyist for farm groups, stands in front of the Association Manage- ment Group building in Meridian, Idaho, on Oct. 7. Though he grew up in the suburbs he has played an ever-growing role representing farmers in the Capitol. IDIN16-7/#16 Benjamin Kelly comes from suburbs to represent ag in halls of state Capitol IDIN16-1/#17 IDIN16-7/#16
