Swiss Farmers' Union

Over time, the modest Farmers' Secretariat (Schweizerisches Bauernsekretariat; SBS for short) evolved into a sizable association with over 80 permanent employees through the establishment of new departments.

The delegates elect a 100-member Chamber of Agriculture (LAKA), which is responsible for securing income, making submissions to the authorities, and supervising management.

SFU Director Martin Rufer[12] and his deputy Urs Schneider can lobby directly in the Federal Palace.

[16] The SFU has set itself the following goals To provide a range of services to farmers, to preserve the family farm, to provide farmers with an adequate income, to influence the legal framework, to use the land wisely, to produce quality products through transparent production processes and designations of origin, to protect cultivated land and to preserve nature.

To achieve these goals, the SFU operates various service companies, including Agrimpuls (Job placement), Agriprof (Education), Agriexpert (Fiduciary services, Legal and Valuation issues), the Agricultural Construction and Architecture Firm LBA, and the Agrisano Companies.

The product-related contributions were recalculated based on final production and resulted in some significant changes for individual member sections.

The Swiss Vegetable Producers Association (VSGP) did not accept the decision of the Delegates Assembly and decided at the end of February 2018 to withdraw from the SFU with retroactive effect from January 1, 2018.

[17] The Farmers' Union welcomes the suspension of the 22+ agricultural policy, which the SFU believes offers no prospects for farming families and is immature.

It therefore advocates clear enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act[20] - the association also opposes the slaughter of pregnant cows and cattle.

[25] However, the Swiss Farmers' Union is fighting the initiatives on drinking water and pesticides - both of which will be put to the vote on June 13, 2021[needs update] - because it believes they go far beyond the goal.

[26][27] According to SFU deputy director Urs Schneider, this is the biggest campaign in the 125-year history of the Swiss Farmers' Union.