What’s top of mind for farmers?
In his annual address to members attending the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting this week, President Zippy Duvall said he heard three consistent concerns from farmers as he traversed farm country this past year.
Passage of a new farm bill, addressing the worsening chronic labor challenges and keeping agriculture’s sustainability efforts in perspective as calls grow for additional focus to address climate change in Washington, D.C.
In all three cases, Duvall said producers are key to educating a crop of new Congressional members.
“Invite members of Congress, and their staff, out to your farm. Explain how the farm bill has helped sustain your farm so you can continue to produce food for our country,” Duvall said.
In addition to 81 new members of Congress who have never worked on a farm bill, Duvall said another 179 members weren’t in Congress during the 2018 farm bill debate.
“That makes 260 who may not understand the importance of farm bill programs. That’s nearly half of Congress,” Duvall said. “We have to put in the extra work to show them why we need to pass the farm bill this year.”
Calling the farm bill critical to American agriculture, Duvall said the organization began preparing 18 months ago through the formation of a Farm Bill Working Group to identify priorities and gaps in Farm Bureau policy regarding the next farm bill.
“To hit just the highlights, we must protect and expand crop insurance and we need to ensure conservation programs remain voluntary and science-based,” Duvall said. “And we must keep farm policy unified with nutrition policy. When ag and hunger advocates lock arms, we have our best chance of success, which we must never take for granted.”
According to Duvall, discussions about advancing climate-smart farming practices as part of the farm bill renewal are ongoing.
“It’s important to ensure that any additional resources go to voluntary, market-based programs,” he said.
Calling the labor issue a “political lightning rod,” Duvall said the lack of workers is holding back American agriculture, businesses and rural communities.
“If we took the politics out of it and put the stakeholders in one room, I bet we’d find a solution by the end of the day,” Duvall said. “We need our legislators to set aside the political games and come to the table ready to find a solution. It is past time we get this done.”
Turning to the growing Washington, D.C., interest in the issue of sustainability, Duvall said agriculture is “taking back the narrative” by demonstrating and sharing the commitment to protecting the soil and improving water and air quality.
Recommendations provided by the agriculture industry-based Food and Ag Climate Alliance are also driving results, with many of them reflected in the recently-approved SUSTAINS Act and the revised Growing Climate Solutions Act.
“These bills give us the tools to help implement voluntary, market-driven programs on our farms,” Duvall said. “Farmers are innovators – we’re always looking for ways to do better by our land. Just like I don’t farm the same way my grandfather did, my grandchildren won’t farm the same way I do.”