Day 4 of the Class of 2020 National Study Seminar

By Heather Spray, Andy Wold, and Ellen Kamps

As the sun rose over the Washington Monument, the IALF Class of 2020 boarded the D.C. Metro and departed for the Politico Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. 

Greeted by Senior Editor Bob Hillman, the class toured the newsroom to expand their understanding of the international news agency that employs roughly 550 staff. Raised on a farm in Illinois and as an alumnus of the University of Illinois, Mr. Hillman educated the class on advertising structures and the future of journalistic integrity in the 21st century.

The class learned that Politico’s target demographic is the political community at large, and geared towards Washington’s lawyers, lobbyists, and think tank professionals. The publication was launched in 2007 and is owned by Robert Allbritton.

The group of 32 then traveled to Embassy Row where they visited the New Zealand Embassy and British Embassy. Ambassador Rosemary Banks of New Zealand welcomed the class in Te Reo, the language of the Māori people. Dr. Steve Kelly, first secretary to agriculture and trade, joined the group and explained how 47% of gross agricultural revenue comes from dairy, 11% from cattle, 13% from horticulture and 10% from lamb. He emphasized the importance of free trade in New Zealand and how it is essential to their economy, with exports at approximately 30% of the GDP (compared to only 13% in the U.S.A.) and international trade (imports and exports) at 60% of New Zealand’s total economic activity.

The next stop was the Great Britain Embassy for a briefing on trade policy and the impending Brexit vote. Jennifer Groover, senior policy advisor for trade and agriculture, led the conversation along with Neil DeSouza, trade policy analyst, and Sarah Clegg, head of trade and agriculture policy. It was a unique opportunity to discuss policy at the Embassy, as just two hours after the meeting, Britain’s House of Commons rejected the no-deal Brexit with a vote of 321-278.

After Embassy Row, the class ubered to the White House at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building where they met Gail Slater, special assistant to the president for technology, telecom and cyber policy, as well as Jeremy Wiggins, associate director and policy coordinator of the national econ council, and Richard Chalky, associate director in the office of legislative affairs. The discussion touched on the USDA and their nine potential locations for a food and agriculture hub in Illinois, the USMCA and replacing NAFTA, as well as the rural broadband efforts by the Trump administration. 

The final stop of the day was at the U.S. State Department for a briefing from Principal Deputy Assistant for Economic and Business Affairs Peter Haas, as well as Director of the Office of Agricultural Policy Patrick Dunn. Both explained how the department focuses on food trade, food assistance, food security and biotechnology. With the international trip for Illinois Agricultural Leadership less than a year away, the class’ interest was piqued on topics such as China’s influence on Africa, Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto, GMO adoption and technology, globalized markets, and the World Trade Organization.