AFBF Elects Leaders, Defines Priorities

Last week, delegates of the American Farm Bureau Federation from all 50 states elected leaders and approved policies that will help shape the future of agriculture.

Among priorities for 2016 will be issues such as renewable fuels, governmental reform, farm policy, risk management and international trade.

Delegates elected Zippy Duvall to serve as the President of AFBF. Duvall is a poultry, cattle and hay producer from Greene County, Ga., and served as President of the Georgia Farm Bureau for nine years. Duvall has held numerous leadership positions in Farm Bureau and his local community. He is the 12th president of the AFBF.

Delegates also elected Scott VanderWal as Vice President.

A top issue for the new AFBF President is immigration, Duvall says. “It’s a moral issue and a sensitive issue, but it’s also a business issue. Anytime we make it hard for farmers to get crops out, that’s a chain reaction for the consumer that adds costs.”

On regulatory review and reform, delegates addressed recent malfeasance by establishing a new policy that opposes governmental attempts to sway public opinion on rules open for public comment.

AFBF voted to support the Trans Pacific Partnership. S