Farmers Ready to Weigh in on Ag Policy in Trump Administration

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, AFBF President Zippy Duvall said American farmers and ranchers are ready to take a seat at the table and work with the new administration to address the key issues facing agriculture.

The U.S. agricultural industry may wind up jousting with the Trump administration over immigration, with immigrant workers often providing crucial labor to harvest crops and tend animals. Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said farmers currently rely on “a huge skilled workforce already in America that are undocumented,” and while farm groups aren’t looking for “amnesty” for these workers, there needs to be a way for them to legally do these jobs in the U.S., Mr. Duvall said.

Mr. Trump’s agricultural advisers have discussed immigration and farm labor with the Farm Bureau and promised the group “a seat at the table” on the issue, Mr. Duvall said. “We will remind them of that.”

Subscribers to the Wall Street Journal can read the full piece, "Donald Trump Win Raises Farm Belt Trade Questions," here.