Finding Solutions for Farmers and Ranchers in 2025

This past year marked my second full year serving as executive vice president at the American Farm Bureau Federation and it has been inspiring to see our organization flourish as we serve farmers and ranchers.

Although our grassroots leaders have been key to the federation for more than 100 years, in 2024, we put a special spotlight on them as we celebrated “The Year of the County President.” I was fortunate to travel to several state Farm Bureau annual meetings as well as conferences and summits on behalf of Farm Bureau and enjoyed meeting many of the grassroots leaders knocking it out of the park. Through it all, I’ve had a front row seat to all that our staff and our farmer and rancher members have accomplished this year.

A big 2024 victory came in the 11th hour, as nearly 12,000 of our grassroots members engaged in calling on Congress to include much-needed support for farmers and ranchers in the year-end continuing resolution. This groundswell of grassroots engagement ensured aid would be delivered to farmers and rural communities impacted by hurricanes, wildfires and floods, as well as those struggling through these difficult economic times. This funding is a short-term solution to help farmers and ranchers stay afloat as we urge Congress to modernize the farm bill.

We also saw the U.S. Supreme Court rule in favor of farmers and ranchers once again by striking down Chevron deference. Chevron deference threw out the balance of power between the three branches of government. The Court’s ruling will allow that balance to be restored and should help reduce the regulatory back and forth farmers are often subject to.

Importantly, we were also proud to join together with many of our friends across the industry, including the Farm Foundation, 4-H, Farm Credit, CoBank, Land O’Lakes and more, as the Farm Family Wellness Alliance, to bring Togetherall to our farm families. Togetherall is an online, completely anonymous peer-to-peer support network that revolutionizes mental health and wellbeing services. If you’re not yet signed up for Togetherall, I encourage you to do so today.

As we gear up for 2025, let’s take a look at some of the key priorities, opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

Farm bill

For the third consecutive year, the farm bill will be a top priority for Farm Bureau, and it should be a priority for every American. The farm bill is a critical tool to ensure our nation’s food and farm security. The legislation helps agriculture to meet new challenges, continue innovating and advance sustainability goals. While Congress passed an extension of the 2018 farm bill as part of the end-of-year Continuing Resolution, that bill is now seven years old—well past the lifespan of legislation that’s meant to be renewed every five years. We call on lawmakers to get to work as soon as possible in 2025 pass a new, bipartisan, modernized farm bill.

Taxes

The upcoming year will be a big one for taxes. Farmers and ranchers are headed for a tax cliff in 2025. Legislation passed in 2017 that gave agriculture some much-needed tax relief is set to expire this year, and there could be big consequences if it does. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act allows for bonus depreciation of capital investments, lowered individual tax rates and doubled the standard deduction, among many other beneficial provisions. All of which will disappear without Congressional action.

Ag labor

Time and time again, I hear from our members that meeting their labor needs remains one of their most pressing issues. There simply aren’t enough domestic workers to meet agriculture’s needs, and the H-2A visa program falls short, too. Not to mention the flawed wage calculation system that makes it difficult for many farmers to afford help. AFBF has long called for bipartisan, workable solutions to meet our labor challenges and we made progress in 2024 helping elected leaders understand how serious the situation is for farmers, but the clock ran out. We’ll redouble our efforts in 2025.

Trade

Trade will be another significant issue this year. While we saw a big win last year when a U.S.-Mexico-Canada dispute settlement panel sided with American corn growers, there’s more work to do when it comes to USMCA. This year is a review year for the agreement, which means we could see a renegotiation with two of our top trading partners. Our farmers and ranchers deserve a fair deal when it comes to our neighbors north and south of the border.

We remain concerned that the U.S. is falling behind other ag exporting countries in forming new trade agreements. For the third fiscal year in a row, the U.S. has seen an ag trade deficit. Trade leaders must refocus on finding new markets and rebuilding relationships with former trading partners in order for the U.S. to be competitive in the global marketplace.

Modernizing dairy policy

Dairy policy has been a big topic throughout my time at Farm Bureau. We began work on reforming the Federal Milk Marketing Orders in 2022, and this year that work will finally come to fruition. We kept our boots on the ground throughout the entire months-long hearing process, and final results of that vote will be announced at some point in 2025. We stand ready help dairy farmers understand the changes and we are hopeful that our years of work will result in fairer, more transparent milk pricing.

Clearly, there are many challenges and opportunities ahead in 2025. Last year, we saw just how effective we can be when the Farm Bureau family comes together to raise our unified voice. I’m confident we’ll succeed in advancing our priorities in 2025 as we work together to build a brighter future for farmers and ranchers, rural communities, and our nation as a whole.

Joby Young is executive vice president at the American Farm Bureau Federation.