Speaking at the 2025 American Farm Bureau Annual Convention held this weekend in San Antonio, TX, AFBF president Zippy Duvall talked about the work the organization is doing when it comes to the agricultural workforce.
“Your American Farm Bureau team is pressing House and Senate leaders to understand the urgency of ag labor reform. And we’ve hosted fly ins to D. C. where you’ve directly shared your personal stories and your powerful stories. And it matters for our lawmakers to hear directly from you, and I want to thank you once it’s done that,” he said. “We turned the volume up on this issue. We turned the volume up on this issue. And on, and, and it has, we’ve seen important steps taken. We helped a house task force develop ag labor recommendations, and we convinced the Department of Labor to come to the table and discuss short term solutions.”
Duvall said farm bureau approached the issue from multiple directions. “Yes, including the courts, and it paid off,” he continued. “We helped convince federal courts to block an overreaching DOL rule related to H 2A workers. And I promise you, we will not let up until we find a solution to that serious problem.”
Duval also discussed topics like the Farm Bill and tax reform. Speaking on the Farm Bill, Duvall said the organization is still “focused on the finish line on several other top issues”. He said, “All of you know that it’s been a tough battle on the Farm Bill. And while we appreciate Congress passing an extension, we are not going to let up, despite lawmakers kicking the can down the road and making political excuses. Tens of thousands of you have stepped up to help, and you bet we are going to keep on working together to make sure that we get a modernized Farm Bill.”
Duvall said tax reform is another issue top of mind for farmers. “ Many of the tax provisions we rely on to keep our farms economically sustainable are expiring this year. We shouldn’t be left. You shouldn’t be left guessing from year to year whether you’re going to get hit with a tax bill that could put your farms out of business. Our leaders have promised to address it and we’re going to hold them to it.”