American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall told farmers attending the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention Dec. 3 that “we need a modernized farm bill now!”

Duvall was the keynote speaker at the event’s opening luncheon in Hot Springs.

Despite the leadership transition in Washington right now, he said, farmers can’t afford to wait for an updated farm bill. And further extensions of current policy, he added, will have detrimental effects on farmers and ranchers, like eliminating crucial economic disaster assistance.

Duvall encouraged farmers to use their grassroots power to contact their leaders and continue pushing for immediate passage of a farm bill. He also noted that labor issues remain the industry’s No. 1 challenge.

“We’ll be monitoring (President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed) mass deportation closely,” he noted, because U.S. agriculture “relies heavily” on foreign workers.

“We will work to minimize any damage to farmers,” Duvall added.


With more than 135,000 members in 88 county Farm Bureaus, VFBF is Virginia’s largest farmers’ advocacy group. Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization committed to supporting Virginia’s agriculture industry. View more convention news as it becomes available at vafb.com/convention, and follow us on social media via #VFBF24 #CultivatingConnections.

Contact Pam Wiley, vice president of communications, at 804-291-6315.