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Duvall and Ford say health of members ’21 priority

The leaders of American Farm Bureau and Land O’ Lakes say the health of their members continues to be top priority this new year. Beth Ford, CEO of Land O’ Lakes, joined Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall for today’s general convention session to talk about priorities for 2021. Ford pointed out COVID-19 vaccine rollout is expected the first half of this year and farmer member health and mental health and security are at the top of their list, “I wish I could say, boy, we finished December 31st and that’s over and now this is going to be all bright skies. That’s not actually the case. We know that. We’re going to be in for some bumpy times as we come out of this pandemic and as we step into, I guess normal.”

Ford says Land O’ Lakes is also focused on their business partnerships and working with the incoming administration.

Duvall says Farm Bureau’s priorities are very similar and while COVID changed some farmer issues many remain the same such as trade, “And the accomplishments that this administration has had and the next administration will have is going to play a big role in how we move forward.”

Duvall says lack of farm labor remains a very critical issue, “I tell everyone the biggest limiting factor of American agriculture is our labor force. No one in America really wants to do this kind of work anymore.”

He says existing programs are too cumbersome and not available to all so a legislative fix is needed to have guest workers come to the U.S. and not be seasonal.

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