Commentary: As farmers, ranchers raise their voice, results follow

By Zippy Duvall

As farmers, I believe we all have a little pioneering spirit in us. We’re eager to see what’s next and how we can get there together.

New frontiers are not just new lands to explore. They are places where our communities come together in new and creative ways, where innovation drives us toward a brighter future and where we find solutions to challenges we face. We reach new frontiers together, one step at a time.

First, it takes leadership. At the American Farm Bureau, we are leading the way as your voice in Washington, D.C. Part of our role as the national voice of agriculture is rallying our members to strengthen agriculture by engaging with leaders, boosting our influence and achieving our goals.

A powerful example of our federation’s strength is our advocacy on the “waters of the U.S.” rule. Together, we saw a major victory at the U.S. Supreme Court with WOTUS. The highest court in the land agreed with what we had been saying all along. The justices unanimously struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s significant nexus test. The Supreme Court sent EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers back to the drawing board.

The EPA did come out with a new rule, and it technically complies with the high court’s decision. But it still doesn’t provide the clarity we’ve been calling for. You can bet we’ll keep working to protect you from the threat of penalties for simply farming your land.

When it comes to many big issues facing our farms, you better believe that Farm Bureau is at the table.

Last year, I talked about the power of farm and nutrition groups coming together to advocate for the farm bill. Today, we are united behind the Farm Bill for America’s Families campaign. We brought together a diverse group across agriculture, conservation and nutrition to explain why the farm bill matters for all Americans.

We started working closely with the leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees long before the five-year 2018 Farm Bill expired. And we got a jump start on other legislation. In fact, 2,300 of our grassroots leaders and members came to Washington, D.C., in 2023 to advocate for the farm bill.

The road to a new farm bill has become longer than any of us would have liked, but together we can see it through.

Another great example of our leadership is our work on sustainability. We took bold action in working with a wide array of groups and companies to find common ground.

We’re working to find the right pathway forward—in government policy and in corporate commitments.

Today, farmers are at the forefront of the climate discussion. We have successfully advocated for voluntary, incentive-based solutions instead of government mandates. Leaders and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are now inviting farmers to the table to help create those solutions. We have even been called to the White House twice to talk about how climate programs must be voluntary and treat farmers fairly.

We all know mandates can come from outside of government, so we are working with food companies to help them better understand farmers. We invited leaders from PepsiCo to our convention last year. As a result, they formed a new Food and Farm Council.

This year at Farm Bureau, we took on a big challenge to reform the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. Everyone across the industry could agree reform was overdue.

As a former dairyman myself, I can say agreeing on a problem is one thing, but agreeing on a solution is a whole different ballgame. That was our challenge: finding consensus on what dairy reform should look like.

Where others saw a mountain blocking their path, we saw an opportunity to grow stronger and lift up the industry. A little over a year ago, we hosted a meeting with farmers, processors and dairy groups.

It laid the foundation for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to host historic hearings on the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. Those are continuing, and Farm Bureau is at the table.

Another great example of teamwork is our call for the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure farmers are not caught up in the SEC’s new climate reporting rule. Many of you helped us send more than 6,000 messages to Congress about the rule, urging members to require the SEC to include a strong agriculture exemption.

We need everyone at the table working together to reach new frontiers. Thank you for being a force for good in your communities, a friend to your neighbors and an advocate for the noble profession we call farming.

(Vincent “Zippy” Duvall is president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. This commentary is adapted from his Jan. 21 address to the AFBF Convention in Salt Lake City.)