AFBF’s Duvall Measured in Illinois Farm Bureau Comments

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall was measured in his comments about an ongoing lawsuit and the expulsion of the Illinois Farm Bureau from the national organization, during a conference at the AFBF national meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, this week. 

Duvall also mentioned key worries he has about farm labor under the Trump Administration and the AFBF’s work on a disaster aid package for farmers. 

Touches on Illinois Farm Expulsion

As the Illinois Farm Bureau (ILFB) wrapped up a contentious annual meeting on Tuesday in the aftermath of the AFBF expelling the organization from its ranks, Duvall avoided a question about the impending lawsuit filed by the ILFB against the AFBF. When asked if anything has changed in the relationship between the ILFB, he said, “Of course, I’m limited to what I can talk about around the lawsuit, but nothing has really changed.

“I know that Illinois Farm Bureau had their meeting this week. Maybe finishing up today, I don’t know. But I don’t have many results from that meeting, so I really don’t have anything to share.”

Duvall then said the AFBF’s board of directors is united on this issue, as have other state farm bureaus. Duvall said the AFBF does not want to set a “dangerous precedent,” but added that farmer control was at the heart of the board’s decision, making it clear he felt the ILFB was violating the AFBF’s member agreement. 

When asked what the Illinois Farm Bureau could do to get back in the good graces of the AFBF, Duvall was blunt: “They could reverse their decision, that would resolve it. I’ll just leave it there.”

Duvall Monitoring Trump Administration Deportation Plans

Duvall said farm labor is the “biggest limiting factor we see in American agriculture,” and the incoming Trump Administration’s talk of a large number of deportations among undocumented immigrants has caught the Georgia farmer’s attention. 

Duvall said he was “very interested in seeing the plan they put together,” and he also said he intended to make sure the administration was aware of the potential ill effects the campaign could have on agriculture. Duvall said he expects the AFBF to have a seat with the president or his team and see what they can do to “minimize the collateral damage” to farmers, who he said employ undocumented workers heavily because “there’s no other people that want to do that work.”

Aid Package a Priority for AFBF

Expressing disappointment in the lack of tangible progress on a Farm Bill and the need for a “modernized“ bill as opposed to an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, Duvall said he hopes to see some progress in a positive direction when the new administration takes office. The Farm Bill is not his only concern, though, as he said he’s pushing for a disaster and economic relief package to help farmers fight against inflation and recover from natural disasters. 

An aid package numbered in the billions of dollars has been discussed, per reports from Politico, but nothing has made it to the floor in either chamber.

Duvall said he was stunned when driving from southern Georgia to his family farm in the northern part of the state, his first opportunity to view the area since Hurricane Helene hit. He said the area was worse than he even expected it to be. 

“It was the first opportunity I’ve had to actually ride down in that area since Helene, and it looks like a bomb went off for a hundred miles,” Duvall said. “I mean, it is really, really bad. And the crops that were destroyed, the farms that were destroyed, homes that were lost — it really was difficult to look at.”

Duvall Optimistic About Ag Secretary Nominee Rollins

Duvall has not been able to meet with Trump’s Agriculture Secretary nominee, Texas lawyer Brooke Rollins, but Duvall said he is encouraged by the appointment and is “really looking forward” to the opportunity. Duvall said it’s his job to build a good relationship with Rollins and work with her — something he said has not been an issue in the past with Sonny Perdue and Tom Vilsack, who Duvall said he has formed a friendship with in the past eight years. Duvall said Vilsack has done an “outstanding job” during his tenure.

“He and I text each other on a regular basis on issues, and he’s always had me in the briefings when he’s getting ready to announce something,” Duvall said of Vilsack. “And I just bounce stuff off him. Sometimes he bounces stuff off me. So I can’t say enough good things about him and Secretary Purdue before him.”

After getting named as a shortlisted candidate by multiple outlets for the USDA role, there was speculation that Duvall could take a role in the upcoming Trump Administration. 

Tuesday, though, he said he was comfortable in his current role at AFBF. “I feel like I can assist the president and his cabinet by bringing him the voice of American agriculture, with the experience that I’ve gained here over the last nine years,” Duvall said. “So I look forward to continuing this role.”