[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E236-E237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DICK FIFIELD

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM BEVILL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 28, 1996

  Mr. BEVILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dick Fifield 
who is retiring after 22 years of dedicated service with the Alabama 
Farmers Federation. I have known Dick for many years and I consider him 
to be one of the strongest advocates of farm programs in the country. 
He has fought for the small family farmer and his leadership on behalf 
of Alabama farmers will be missed.
  Dick is a native of Wisconsin who began his career in agriculture 
with a degree from Beloit College in 1951, followed by an MS in 
horticulture from the University of Illinois in 1972. He served his 
country as a member of the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps as a 
special agent from 1951 to 1954, and taught at the University of 
Illinois from 1971 to 1974 as an assistant horticulturist before moving 
to Alabama and joining the Alabama Farmers Federation in 1974.
  As director of horticulture, poultry and forestry, Dick designed the 
federation's monthly food price survey and began annual farm market 
days in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Montgomery. He established and 
operated a producer-farmer market inside a shopping mall in Birmingham, 
a new and innovative idea at the time. Dick played a leading role in 
the design and construction of the Alabama State Farmers' Market, built 
in 1984.
  As director of natural and environmental resources at the Farmers 
Federation, Dick Fifield worked with farmers to promote optimum 
employment of their land resources.

[[Page E237]]

  He helped farmers to understand and implement State and Federal 
regulations affecting family farming operations.
  As director of national affairs, Dick has served as the 
organization's liaison with the U.S. Congress since 1980.
  In this role, Dick has helped formulate national agricultural policy 
since the 1981 farm bill. He served as a member of the National Peanut 
Grower Group's Technical Advisory Committee and was actively involved 
in the formulation of GATT and NAFTA legislation related to peanuts and 
other commodities of interest to Alabama.
  Dick will continue to operate his family farm in Chilton County, AL, 
as well as his family-owned nursery in Montgomery. And I'm sure he will 
continue to be a strong voice for agriculture. I doubt he will miss 
living out of a suitcase, since he has spent the better part of the 
past 15 years traveling every week between Montgomery and Washington. 
His retirement is certainly well-deserved.
  In honor of his lifetime of dedicated service to Alabama farmers, 
Dick recently received the Alabama Farmers Federation's Special Service 
to Agriculture Award. I join his many friends and colleagues in 
congratulating Dick on a job well done.

                          ____________________