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2023 policies established at AFBF Convention

American Farm Bureau delegates have set the organization’s national policy for 2023.

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall tells Brownfield delegates voted to modernize the 2023 Farm Bill by expanding baseline funding.

“Having more flexibility around the disaster relief programs,” Duvall said Tuesday at the conclusion of the 2023 AFBF Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico. “And extending crop protection with crop insurance for more specialty crops.”

Delegates also voted to bring more transparency to the federal milk pricing system. Policy changes include support for more USDA audits of processing costs, and a Federal Milk Marketing Orders voting procedure that requires cooperatives to communicate more clearly with members regarding proposed changes.

Duvall says farmers and ranchers play a vital role in this process.

“Organizations talk about grassroots and engagement,” he said, “but our engagement starts with developing our policy. It starts in the county. It starts as some farmer’s idea on the farm and he brings it to his county, which takes it to his state, and then it ends up here at this convention.”

Delegates added some trade policy as USDA continues to work with the Mexican government to drop a proposed ban on biotech corn imports.

They also formalized AFBF’s opposition to the EPA’s new Waters of the U.S. rule and a proposed SEC rule that would require Scope 3 emissions reporting from farms.