ANAHIEM, Calif. (DTN) -- With farm losses running into the tens of billions and Congress still unable to pass a new farm bill, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation told members on Sunday that the Trump administration's $12 billion in ad-hoc aid is not enough. He warned policymakers that more relief, expanded trade and labor reform are urgently needed to keep farm families afloat.

"We have faced some tough times across agriculture this year, and there's no sugarcoating that," said Georgia farmer Zippy Duvall. "It's real and I know it has been difficult for many of you."

Duvall, speaking at AFBF's annual meeting in Anaheim, California, said farmers are grateful for USDA's $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program announced in December, but he stressed it does not come close to offsetting the full extent of losses farmers have faced during the past two years.

"It is definitely needed in farm country, but the losses are much deeper than that. More support is still needed to cover the tens of billions lost over the last couple years," Duvall said.

Duvall later added, "With the toughest farm economy we've seen in a generation, we know our leaders need to hear from us about what relief is needed in the short- and long-term."

In a press conference, Duvall said agriculture faces a "critical stage" because of a combination of financial pressures. Ideally, increases in both trade and domestic demand will help curb the loss of farms.

"We want to grow for the market and we want the system to work," Duvall said.

Talking about losses by fruit and vegetable producers, Duvall said the $1 billion set aside in the FBA for sugar and specialty crop growers won't take care of the need. He called on Congress to provide more relief for those farmers.

"We also know that one billion for specialty crops isn't nearly enough in that area," he said.

ON MAHA

In a subtle pushback against activist-driven food policy, Duvall also offered some perspective on the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. Duvall said MAHA is "an opportunity -- really a mandate" to engage both policymakers and consumers. He stressed that decisions affecting agriculture need to be "grounded in science." Farmers also need to explain what they are doing every day to provide a safe and healthy food supply, he said.

He questioned the "buzzwords" of sustainability and regenerative agriculture, saying farmers already apply these practices. He also stressed that MAHA policies must recognize conservation practices that farmers use.

"Regenerative and sustainable are just popular words for practices that many farmers have been using for decades to grow more with less and to protect our soil," Duvall said.

Duvall noted it took strategic engagement from farmers to create a shift between the first MAHA report in May that challenged the use of pesticides to the second report in September that largely dropped pesticide references while emphasizing regenerative practices.

"We believe it's critical for consumers and lawmakers to hear straight from farmers. In fact, we brought farmer-members to the White House to share their stories about what modern farming looks like."

TRADE, NOT TARIFFS

Duvall also said he directly challenged President Donald Trump over tariffs when he had an opportunity to sit down with Trump in the Oval Office.

Duvall said he made it clear Farm Bureau supports trade, not tariffs.

"I was very frank with President Trump about the challenges we are facing," Duvall said. He added, "I shared that farmers are ready to reach more markets with American-grown products."

ON LABOR

Duvall said the labor shortage remains "the number one crisis facing farmers across our country."

Farmers saw some regulatory relief in the first year of the Trump administration as the Labor Department rolled back wage rules for the H-2A farm labor program as well as dialed back safety rules for H-2A workers approved by the Biden administration.

"We achieved changes to the H-2A wage rate. This brought much-needed relief to many farmers who were facing skyrocketing wage mandates," he said.

Still, Duvall added that farmers need "agricultural labor reform that works on all types and all sizes of farms in every state."

On the labor issue, Duvall said that also was an area he talked to Trump about and said he believes Trump understands the problem farmers and other small businesses face with workforce needs.

"We have to have a workforce that is able to come to work every day," Duvall said, adding "Everybody is a victim of a broken system."

POLICY WINS FOR AFBF

On taxes and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Duvall said AFBF advocated for the renewal of tax provisions for farm and ranch businesses. Without these provisions, farm families could have seen an increase of 9% to 20% on their tax bill, Duvall said. Along with that was a "big win with the estate tax," he added, to help pass on the farm to the next generation.

While seeking more federal aid now, the OBBBA also provided "long-overdue changes to risk management programs," Duvall said, which included increasing the protection in both commodity programs and crop insurance. While Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage (ARC-PLC) paid out little this past fall, the changes in the OBBBA will boost farmer support an estimated $13.5 billion next fall.

"It's a historic investment of nearly $70 billion to modernize the farm programs farmers depend upon," Duvall said.

On a full farm bill, Duvall said "Congress keeps kicking the can down the road," but a five-year bill is still needed. "We still need a new farm bill, and we will keep holding Congress accountable to deliver that and other critical support for agriculture."

E15 NEEDED

Duvall also advocated for Congress to deal with market needs for some crops such as making E15 available year-round. "This would expand the market for farmers and deliver real cost savings to consumers at the pump. A clear win-win for all of us and the consumers."

Biofuel groups last week also pressed Congress to take action this year on year-round E15 to provide more demand for corn.

During his press conference, Duvall noted E15 had the potential to take up 2.5 billion bushels more of corn. "We need that to happen," he said.

California lawmakers passed year-round E15 earlier this year. California also has become a leader in selling E85 ethanol, which could be seen advertised in area fuel stations. Fuel stations near the convention center were advertising E85 prices roughly $1.79 per gallon less than regular gasoline.

Also see, "Searching for an Outside-the-Box Policy Fix for Crop Farmers," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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