American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall kicked off his organization’s 106th annual meeting by highlighting member engagement stories and policy priorities, including ensuring that Congress provided much needed disaster aid and financial support at the end of last year.
“We successfully led the charge to ensure Congress recognizes how tough it is right now for farmers,” Duvall said while noting that AFBF members flooded Congress with over 12,000 messages in 72 hours. “This led to $30 billion dollars to support farmers and ranchers at a critical time.”
Throughout last year, he said members sent nearly 50,000 calls, letters and texts to Congress and federal agencies – a new record during his presidency. The engagement led to a “huge win almost right out of the gate in 2024” as the Securities and Exchange Commission removed the Scope 3 reporting requirement from its climate disclosure rule.
The final rule does not require public companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions from their supply chains, including farms and ranches.
“It was all but a done deal until thousands of you joined me to help the SEC understand that it would have been impossible for farmers to comply,” Duvall said. “I never expected to get a personal phone call from the SEC chairman. No one in Washington believed we could impact a SEC rule. But we sure did.”
Looking ahead, Duvall said AFBF is “focused on the finish line” for several other issues, including:
Farm bill: “While we appreciate Congress passing another extension, we will not let up, despite lawmakers kicking the can down the road and making political excuses.”
Labor reform: Duvall said that everywhere he travels, he hears farmers and ranchers talking about their struggles finding skilled, reliable workers and “operating on razor-thin margins as labor costs rise.” Unfortunately, he said, “election politics stood in the way of more progress” on ag labor reform last year but noted that a federal court did block a “overreaching” Department of Labor rule related to H2-A workers. “I promise you we won’t let up till we find a solution,” he added.
Tax reform: With many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiring this year, Duvall said AFBF will continue to hold Congress accountable on updating the law. “You shouldn’t be left guessing from year to year whether you will get hit with a tax bill that could put your farm out of business.”
Duvall emphasized that a big part of the organization’s progress last year involved helping decision–makers understand the impact of laws and regulations on farms.
With a new Congress and new administration in Washington, he said it’s an important time to engage with our leaders and build relationships.
“Many of them are not familiar with agriculture. And some of them have ideas that could set back years of progress in modern farming and food security,” he pointed out. “Let’s help America understand all the ways we’ve moved agriculture forward, all the tools needed to continue this success and our commitment – above all – to providing safe, healthy and affordable food for this country.
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