September 5th, 2019
By Lori Sallet
American Farmland Trust Hires Tim Fink as Policy Director
Tim is an agriculture policy expert, coalition builder, seasoned political and thought leader, who moves legislation and raises funds on behalf of agriculture and the environment
WASHINGTON, D.C. – American Farmland Trust, the organization behind the national movement No Farms No Food®, has hired Tim Fink as its new policy director. Tim is charged with developing AFT’s overall policy direction and strategies, overseeing the implementation of those strategies, coordinating AFT’s federal policy work and all relevant state policy work in close collaboration with AFT’s national initiative leaders and regional directors.
“We are witnessing the dawn of a new day for agricultural policy. We have both a challenge and an opportunity before us — to optimize the value of the most powerful resources we possess in this nation, our irreplaceable farmland and ranchland. We now know that we must utilize this land to both grow food and restore our planet. This requires us to act boldly, to act creatively and to act now,” said John Piotti, president and CEO.
He continued, “Tim’s policy strategy expertise; aptitude for coalition building and management; respect as a thought leader in the agriculture and the environment space; and his readiness to lead, communicate and advocate will serve AFT well and serve the farmers and ranchers we support through AFT’s holistic mission to save the land that sustains us by protecting farmland, promoting sound farming practices and keeping farmers on the land.”
Tim comes to AFT from the Supporters of Agricultural Research, or SoAR, Foundation where as the director of research and policy analysis he oversaw federal relations and science policy. There he successfully advocated for increases in USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative from $325m in FY 2015 to $415m in FY 2019. Tim also managed and successfully fund-raised for the National Academies’ Science Breakthroughs 2030 project on behalf of SoAR. In addition, he served as project lead in developing a series of Farm Bill Research Policy Recommendations endorsed by 66 organizations.
Prior to joining SoAR, he was project manager for the 25x’25 Alliance where he led collaborations among government agencies, non-profits, academia and private industry that produced reports on topics such as agricultural adaptation to climate change and rural renewable energy policy. He was also responsible for promoting and tracking developments related to the Farm Bill Energy Title.
Tim has extensive experience in politics, including four political campaigns and as a legislative assistant to the chair of the House Energy Committee for Iowa’s General Assembly. He has also worked on faith and environmental issues as the first executive director of Iowa Interfaith Power & Light and the faith program director for ecoAmerica. A proud native Iowan, he holds a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College with a double major in Political Science and History.
“I am excited to return to my first passions — conservation and climate change. There is immense potential for our nation’s farmers to deliver not just food but the sustainable solutions our nation needs. I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues at AFT, policymakers and our partners across the country to unlock this potential. Together, we will advance the state and federal policies that will enable current and future farmers to succeed,” said Tim.
Tim will be based in AFT’s Washington, DC office. He enjoys hiking, history, guitar, microbreweries, and Chicago Bears football. One of his goals is to visit each of the 58 U.S. national parks with his wife.
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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.