State Farm Bureau Presidents Meet With Trump Officials

Trump administration officials, including EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, and senior MAHA adviser Calley Means, met with state Farm Bureau leaders at the White House Wednesday.

Some 105 Farm Bureau state presidents and government affairs representatives were at the meeting in addition to American Farm Bureau Federation staff, according to the White House. 

AFBF President Zippy Duvall told Agri-Pulse the topics discussed ranged form the farm economy to trade, labor concerns, regulatory reform, and the administration’s Make America Healthy Again policy plans.

The administration officials also included U.S. Trade Representative Counselor Jeff Goettman and White House Domestic Policy Council Deputy Director Heidi Overton.

Duvall said the Farm Bureau presidents asked to be included in future discussions around immigration policy. President Donald Trump has talked about providing farmers a “temporary pass” from mass deportations for workers who are illegal immigrants. But he and Rollins have stressed this week that there would be “no amnesty” for farmworkers. 

Duvall said the state leaders talked about the immigration issue “from the perspective of how it would affect agriculture and, and how we would love to have a seat at the table when they work on the policies and directives of how to handle the situation that we have.”

Means outlined for the group the intentions of the administration when it comes to MAHA policy priorities, Duvall said. Duvall said AFBF is “working to build a relationship” with Means, “so that we can communicate with him.”

Farm groups have complained that they were excluded from development of the MAHA Commission report issued in May. Means has since pledged to ensure that farm groups are “heavily engaged” in development of MAHA policies. Means’ sister, Casey Means is an outspoken critic of pesticides and seed oils who has been nominated to be surgeon general.

The White House offered statements from Zeldin at the meeting on the definition of “waters of the United States,” which he has promised to redefine, and food costs.

“We are going to reconsider the definition of Waters of the United States. We believe at the Trump EPA that there should not be any farmer, rancher, or land owner anywhere in America who needs to go hire an attorney or pay somebody to tell them whether or not there is a water on their land that is Water of the United States,” Zeldin said.

This article was originally published by Agri-Pulse. Agri-Pulse is a trusted source in Washington, D.C., with the largest editorial team focused on food and farm policy coverage.