Texas Agriculture Daily News
AFBF holds firm on agricultural issues
Thursday, January 17, 2013
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The nation’s largest farming organization is holding its stance on many issues critical to agriculture. At the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tenn. earlier this week, AFBF President Bob Stallman reported that there wasn’t a lot of controversy amongst the policies discussed at this year’s meeting.
He says that includes the AFBF’s stance on the farm bill.
“We basically reaffirmed support for the position that we had. We did not have a substantive debate about changing the policy position,” Stallman said. “We changed a few words but we retain a lot of flexibility and at the same time I think we influence the process.”
Stallman said Farm Bureau members also reaffirmed what they’d like to see in terms of comprehensive immigration reform.
“That’s figuring out a way to replace and/or streamline the current seasonal and temporary program and at the same time bring a lot of those that have been in the shadows with false documents and are not here legally out of the shadows and provide them opportunity through a visa to work either at-will or in contract employment,” Stallman said.
At the annual meeting, Texas Farm Bureau delegates were able to push through boll weevil and crop insurance policies. The boll weevil policy allows for the development of a program to keep boll weevils out of Texas and other parts of the nation where they have already been eradicated. The crop insurance policy changes prevent caps on crop insurance assistance to farmers.
For more information on this year’s annual meeting, visit fb.org.
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