Philip Haynie IV
Jul 28, 2023
ARLINGTON, VA – I didn’t know much about rice until just a few years ago but in that short time I’ve worked in the farming, milling, and now, the political side of the rice industry. Interning for Government Affairs at USA Rice has been a great crash course in domestic food and trade policy. I’ve had the chance to meet representatives of other crop commodities and found similarities and differences I never considered. Not only that, but it’s given me a much better picture of what it’s like working in and around Washington, DC, which is one of those things I don’t think you can learn in a classroom setting.
I grew up on a farm in Reedville, Virginia (a long way from rice country), helping my father and grandfather grow things like soybeans, corn, and wheat. When we started farming in Arkansas and I was introduced to rice production, I learned firsthand about the similarities and differences between making a grain for livestock and making one for human consumption. This experience has greatly improved my lens for understanding commodity crop industries by seeing how the interests of farmers across the country converge in legislation.
It feels like this summer in the DC area went by in a flash, with seemingly endless opportunities to attend Congressional hearings, forums, briefings, trade meetings, and great networking events. The people in the industry I’ve met during my internship truly run the gamut in the DC food and agriculture world; they are economists, consultants, researchers, farmers, or people working in trade associations and food manufacturing. Others work directly with agricultural policy on Capitol Hill or through government agencies, but all of them have given me a better insight into what I want to do in agriculture after I graduate.
Someone at an industry-wide reception recently told me that “events like this feel like a family reunion” because of how small and connected the DC agriculture network is in the broader scheme of things. I think that encapsulates the kind of open and inviting feeling I’ve gotten while working at USA Rice, and because of it I’ve learned that there are a lot more career opportunities in agriculture than I previously thought.
I can’t wait to find out which one I’ll take.
Philip is heading into his junior year at Hampton University, pursuing a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Economics.