By SUSAN BLOWER

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Stopping in Indiana last week on his farm tour of the 50 states, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall said the top issue U.S. farmers are facing is a labor shortage.

“As I travel around the country, the first thing I hear is that farmers just need a stable work force, and we recognize that Americans are not going to do that work. The other side says that if we pay them enough, they will do this kind of hard work, but that’s not true,” Duvall told Farm World at his first stop at the Indiana Farm Bureau headquarters in Indianapolis.

His comments were timely, as the Agricultural Guestworker Act, also called AG Act, was approved 17-16 by the House Judiciary Committee on Oct. 25. The AG Act will need to be ratified by the House, but the timing is uncertain.

The bill would replace the H-2A guest worker program with an H-2C under the supervision of the USDA, allowing an additional 450,000 non-residents to work year round on American farms and ranches. This legislation would directly affect dairies, aquaculture operations, food processors and others that depend on year-round immigrant workers.

While praising the new H-2C program, Duvall said the 450,000 cap – amended shortly before the vote – will not be enough to fill the needs of agriculture. He said farmers also are concerned about over-regulation.

“The No. 2 need is for regulatory reform. The current EPA director is speaking our language. We need to bring common sense to the rules,” Duvall said.

He specifically mentioned the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule and those rules intended to protect endangered species as adversely affecting agriculture. “We’ve got to rewrite that program because we all want to protect our natural resources,” he added.

Trade and taxes

Regarding re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Duvall said AFBF’s position is to “do no harm … NAFTA has been serving ag well for the past 23 years. We don’t want to change what’s working,” he noted.

Two areas that need work include the barriers of American poultry and dairy going into Canada, and the right to bring lawsuits against countries that dump fruit and vegetables onto the U.S market, he said.

While praising the current administration’s interest in agriculture, Duvall was clearly unhappy about the country’s withdrawal from the Transpacific Partnership (TPP). “The other 11 countries are moving on. They are taking the lead in the Pacific Rim. We will not take the lead in writing new rules and regulations.”

He wants the country to get involved in more trade agreements. Corn, soybeans, rice, beef and pork have made huge gains through NAFTA, and more trade means a bigger market. “Most people don’t realize that 95 percent of people live outside our borders. Trade barriers have to come to an end.”

When it comes to taxes, Duvall was optimistic about the potential elimination of the inheritance and estate taxes, but he said the grassroots in agriculture needs to get involved.

“I had dinner with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) recently. This president and Speaker Ryan both felt strongly it can get done,” he said.

Duvall also wants to protect agriculture’s special needs: “We need to retain our cash accounting, and we need to continue to expense the interest on capital expenditures.”

Crop insurance is Farm Bureau’s No. 1 priority in the next farm bill. With the exception of cotton and dairy, farmers were well protected by the program in the 2014 bill, Duvall said. He is in favor of keeping the nutrition program in the farm bill.

“We want it to stay in the farm bill to provide food security to the most needy people in our country. That’s important, and makes the bill bipartisan. It’s of interest of both parties,” he added, saying if tax reform is tabled, maybe the 2018 farm bill can be done before Christmas.

Duvall said farmers need to get on their computers or phones and communicate with the administration, secretary of agriculture and Congress to make sure they know how the issues affect farmers. When Congressmen have town hall meetings, “We need to get off our tractors and out of our barns and be present. We need to seize this moment.

“The atmosphere in Washington is that it wants to do the right thing, but it won’t do that without being pushed by the grassroots, and that’s our farmers and ranchers,” he explained.

Duvall said he is satisfied with the new climate in Washington. “The American Farm Bureau has tremendous access to this administration and cabinet members. We have a partner to bring common sense to the federal government, grow communities and create jobs and move forward.”

Touring Indiana

Early last week, Duvall was set to tour a mint farm as well as the nationally known milk and pork producer and agritourism destination Fair Oaks Farm. Other stops included the Iroquois Bio-Energy Co. in Rensselaer, Underwood Farms and Purdue University, ending with the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.

The Angus cattle and poultry farmer from Georgia said he is still involved in production agriculture and thinks that is an advantage as an AFBF leader. “I think it’s important that we face the same problems the people we represent face. We are grounded in reality.”

Duvall began his farm tour almost two years ago after taking office in January 2016, because U.S. agriculture is so diverse. He said he has learned much so far.

“I wanted to educate myself. I knew my little part of it, but American agriculture is so big. The same issues can affect different areas differently. When you talk to them, farmers really show you their heart and soul,” he said.

In the Midwest, he said farmers are doing a great job of protecting their waters and soils from erosion. “The ag community has come so far.”

Duvall spoke of the need to educate the public about farm progress and the negative effects of marketing schemes by big companies that cater to anti-genetically modified and animal rights activists. Ag tourism like that of Fair Oaks does a lot to help the consumer understand what farmers do, he noted.

“The more we can teach consumers about what we do and why, the better. In surveys we see that they trust farmers, but don’t trust ag. We understand that doesn’t go together. They think of Big Ag as corporate or factory farms.”

He recommends farmers engage the public on social media platforms and by inviting guests to their farms.

He also said AFBF is actively engaged in buying stock and getting members involved in boards of food companies in order to educate them about the issues important to farmers.