As the 127th Ohio General Assembly and 110th U.S. Congress went into session, OFBF launched a new program called POWER Communications. The acronym, P.O.W.E.R. stands for Policy Outreach with Effective Results.

Four types of POWER Communication messages are developed and e-mailed to Farm Bureau members and they are: 1) Weekly Public Policy Update 2) Issue Briefing 3) Action Alert and 4) Political Update. Local, state, and national issues; policy, political, and legal affairs information is shared through POWER Communication messages and member involvement or assistance is requested when needed. The POWER Communication messages are sent by e-mail to county Farm Bureau leaders, state trustees, and OFBF staff. These messages share a common branded header and visual look, but each has its appropriate tag line to indicate public policy update, issues briefing, or action alert.

All interested OFBF members are eligible to sign up for the weekly POWER Communication: Public Policy Update. The Public Policy Update provides a recap of what bills were introduced, committee hearings held and highlights of Farm Bureau members testifying, legal rulings, and legislative/regulatory action taken during the past week that is relevant to Farm Bureau policy. In addition, the weekly update lists upcoming events or issues that members should be aware of. The POWER Communication: Issue Briefing messages are sent on an as needed basis to targeted audiences.

These messages provide in-depth analysis and background information/data on a particular issue that public policy staff believes OFBF members should be more aware of. Issue briefings are for informational purposes only. The POWER Communication: Action Alert messages are also sent on an as needed basis to targeted audiences. These messages provide background information and talking points on a pending bill or regulation in which OFBF public policy staff would like Farm Bureau members to take some specific action such as writing, e-mailing or calling their legislators. Finally, POWER Communication: Political Updates are sent on an as needed basis providing the latest political and election news.