2018 a disaster, Farm Bureau president says

Feb. 08--"We're proud to see 2018 in our rearview mirror," Vincent "Zippy" Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau, told a crowd of 400 at the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce's Rooster Booster Breakfast on Thursday morning at the Owensboro Convention Center.

"It was a disaster," he said of the low prices farmers saw last year.

But Duvall, who has headed the 6 million-member organization since 2016, said, "2018 will go down in history as one of the most successful years ever for agriculture policy."

The new farm bill, he said, protects farmers against what Duvall called "over-regulation."

But, he said, "We have to have some regulations. I can remember when rivers caught on fire" because of pollution.

For farmers, Duvall said, labor is the biggest issue these days.

"We need reliable workers," he said. "If we can fix immigration, we'll be able to talk about agriculture's role. Our system is broken. We need to allow good people to come here and work."

Duvall said Farm Bureau, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, has 473,000 members in Kentucky -- the fourth-most in the country -- and Kentucky is the only state where Farm Bureau insurance is the leading insurance carrier.

He's a third-generation Georgia farmer and has a herd of 400 beef cattle and raises more than 750,000 broilers a year.

In 2017, Duvall was appointed to the White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.

Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301, klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com

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