Farm Bureau vows to push for new farm bill during contentious election year

Looking ahead to a contentious political year, the American Farm Bureau Federation plans to insist lawmakers don't leave key agricultural policies on the back burner any longer.

"We need to get even louder," said Zippy Duvall, AFBF's president, told members during the group's annual convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.

After postponing action on a new farm bill in 2023, Congress must now make complex decisions about crop insurance, conservation programs and food assistance amid the tumult of a national presidential election.

To ensure lawmakers keep their eye on the ball despite these distractions, the nation's largest agriculture organization will need farmers to continue demanding the legislation be a priority, Duvall said during his opening address on Jan. 21.

"We need to tell Congress to pass a new, modernized farm bill," he said. "Now, I want to be clear, we're asking you to help us. We need to send a resounding message to Congress."

The Farm Bureau already "got a jump start on others" over the course of the past year, when 2,300 of its members traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the bill, Duvall said. The organization expects to keep up the pressure by getting the word out on social media and through the "Farm Bill for America's Families" campaign, which is supported by a large coalition of farm and food associations.

"Our messages have resonated with the public," he said.

Rising production costs and other impacts of the COVID pandemic have changed the world since the last farm bill was enacted in 2018, so the legislation must be updated to keep the American food system resilient, Duvall said at a press conference after his address.

"The farm bill needs to have more farm in it," with a "true safety net" of reliable crop insurance options and other commodity programs, he said. Other components of the legislation relate to conservation, trade, energy and food assistance for the needy, among others.

"It has to be a priority this year," Duvall said, noting the bill broadly impacts U.S. consumers, not just food producers. "Food security is national security. They are dependent on us to be able to fill their pantries."

Guestworker concerns

With lawmakers looking to improve border security, the Farm Bureau also hopes to press Congress to revise the nation's system for temporary foreign workers, potentially as part of longer-term immigration reforms, Duvall and other organization officials said.

"We see that as an opportunity to enhance, simplify and make the guestworker program more workable," said Sam Kieffer, AFBF's vice president of public policy.

Notwithstanding the migrants crossing the southern border, the agricultural labor shortage is only growing worse and remains a top concern for farmers, Farm Bureau officials said.

"It's the biggest limiting factor that American agriculture has," Duvall said.

Use of the current H-2A farm guestworker visa program is expanding but the bureaucracy and mandatory wage rates involved are becoming increasingly onerous, he said. For example, hourly wages are based on regional surveys that farmers believe are unrealistic.

"Congress has to step in and make some changes," said Kieffer, AFBF's vice president of public policy. "The wage rate is extremely burdensome. When we take an average wage rate and make that the minimum, it certainly is impactful."

'Waters of the U.S.'

Though the Farm Bureau won a significant victory last year with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on "waters of the U.S.," the organization expects the regulatory battle to continue as it objects to how the federal government implements Clean Water Act rules.

The definition of wetlands under federal jurisdiction was substantially narrowed under the decision, which set a national legal precedent. Farmers and others previously complained that regulated "waters of the U.S." were defined too vaguely, allowing federal authorities undue power over their land.

"The justices agreed with what we've been saying all along," Duvall said.

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest regulation "technically complies" with the ruling, the Farm Bureau still thinks federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction extends too far.

"We don't think the EPA went far enough to create clarity for farmers and ranchers," he said. "You can bet we'll keep working to protect you from the threat of penalties simply for farming your land."

Animal welfare law

Another Supreme Court decision, which dealt with California's animal welfare requirements for pork production, was a defeat for the Farm Bureau. The organization argued a state law unconstitutionally forces those standards onto out-of-state hog farmers.

Because the nation's highest court disagreed the law interfered with interstate commerce, the Farm Bureau wants Congress to weigh in on the matter, said Kieffer, AFBF's vice president of public policy.

"One state dictating how others act is troubling," he said. "We need a bipartisan solution to ensure one state can't dictate practices to others."

Federal regulation lawsuit

Oral arguments were recently heard by the Supreme Court in a case pertaining to fishing regulations, which is anticipated to have important consequences for agriculture and other industries subject to federal regulations.

The lawsuit pertains to a legal precedent known as "Chevron deference," under which courts must defer to the federal government's understanding of ambiguous statutes, as long as the interpretation is reasonable.

The Farm Bureau and other critics believe that principle has allowed administrative agencies to put their "thumb on the scale" and enforce federal laws beyond the intent of Congress, said Travis Cushman, AFBF's deputy general counsel.

Federal courts sometimes overturn regulations if they're implemented unreasonably, as with the "waters of the U.S." rule, but the litigation is time-consuming and uncertain, Cushman said. "We don't always get there."

Because federal agencies know ambiguous statutes often won't be clarified with additional legislation, they've used "Chevron deference" to step into the law-making role meant for Congress, he said. The Farm Bureau has submitted legal arguments in the case urging the principle be eliminated or restricted.

"We're optimistic a majority of the court will at least pare it back," Cushman said.

SEC climate rules

On the regulatory front, the Farm Bureau is tracking climate-related rules being considered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The agency is contemplating requirements for publicly traded corporations to disclose the carbon emissions produced by their supply chains, raising fears that farmers will be saddled with grueling record-keeping requirements.

"It's imperative farmers are not tangled up in this regulation," Duvall said. "Really and truly, the SEC doesn't have the authority to regulate agriculture."

If requirements do impose new complications for growers, small family farms will be dissuaded from doing business with major food manufacturers and other publicly held firms, he said. In turn, those big companies will rely more on large farm operations, driving up consolidation in agriculture.

At this point, though, the SEC's chairperson, Gary Gensler, has told the Farm Bureau the final requirements will not ensnare agriculture, Duvall said. "He assured me he does not intend for this to affect our farms and I hope he stands tall and strong when the rule comes out."

Beyond its activities in the governmental arena, the Farm Bureau has also strengthened agriculture's position with the industry's business partners, he said.

'Right to repair'

At last year's conference, the organization announced a "memorandum of understanding" with the Deere machinery company that bolsters the "right to repair" farm equipment, Duvall said. Since then, it's reached similar deals with four more manufacturers, which means such agreements now apply to 75% of U.S. farm equipment.

As computers and technology have become integrated into farm machinery, many growers have complained they can no longer fix equipment themselves - not necessarily due to a lack of expertise, but because manufacturers block access to the software involved.

The Farm Bureau agreements attempt to restore the "right to repair" by letting growers obtain diagnostic information and disable certain security measures, provided the manufacturer's intellectual property remains protected.

Farm and food council

Meanwhile, a major end customer of agriculture products, PepsiCo, has formed a "farm and food council" to receive input from the Farm Bureau and others representing its suppliers. Aside from its namesake soda, the corporation makes a wide variety of other drinks and snacks.

"It helps bridge the gap between farmers and food companies," Duvall said. "I hope other food companies will follow their lead."

Mental health

Looking inwardly at its members' personal needs, the Farm Bureau is continuing to invest in partnerships geared toward alleviating mental health problems in rural areas.

The organization has sought to improve the mental well-being of members for the past five years with its "Farm State of Mind" program, most recently teaming up with the Farm Family Wellness alliance on a new "peer-to-peer support community."

"Togetherall," the new online platform, allows farmers to discuss challenges they may not want to discuss at home with others in rural communities, with professional counselors monitoring the conversations and offering advice.

The organization wants to help erase the stigma that prevents many farmers from sharing their mental health struggles, as such problems are known to be common in rural areas, said Duvall, who's acknowledged facing his own issues after the death of his wife four years ago.

"If we can save just one life, it's worth it," he said.

Farmers and the agricultural industry are no strangers to the pressures of producing food for the world and know the value of joining together to confront problems, Duvall said. Growers are also better able to navigate new frontiers, such as biotechnology and carbon markets, when they act collectively.

"We need to challenge the assumptions and ask the questions together," he said. "We have got this if we work together."