As the American Farm Bureau Convention takes place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Senior Farm and Ranch, Broadcaster, Ron Hays, got the chance to visit with the Vice President of Public Policy at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Steve Thompson about the upcoming AFBF policy discussion and regulation issues from the Biden Administration.
Tuesday, January 10, AFBF will be establishing policy for the next year. Thompson talks about what delegates will be focused on most during this time.
“One of the number one things that is going to be discussed, and kind of the takeaway message, I predict, is centered around the current administration in Washington, DC, and some displeasure with a number of programs and philosophies,” Thompson said. “The one that really jumps out is everything related to ESG and how that mindset is implemented and whether it is going be kind of mandated down in any number of ways.”
Issues related to ESG, Thompson said, will be the highlight and the biggest area AFBF focuses on.
Thompson also talked about how it may be challenging to come up with enough funding for some of the programs in the 2023 Farm Bill.
“The farm bill is really our top target for the year, and that has a pretty large price tag, so we are going to have our work cut out for us on that,” Thompson said.
Thompson said it is going to be a major struggle to have a fully formed piece of legislation in a timely manner.
“We have seen that before- Congressman Lucas has had to take a process that was a multi-year thing, so he has gotten to experience that,” Thompson said. “His guidance and his wisdom and his experience in that process is going to be, no doubt, invaluable to Chairman Thompson, so we are always lucky to have him, but in issues and years like this, I think he may really prove what an incredible leader he is.”
The Biden Administration has been very active in recent issues such as the Waters of the U.S., endangered species, and more. Regarding many of these issues, Thompson said there are a number of specific asks and statements within AFBF’s proposed policy that target the difficulties those in the U.S. agriculture industry are facing.
“There are a number of statements all through the packet that request simplification or just some common sense into how we deal with some of these specific federal regulations,” Thompson said. “It has become so difficult to understand- not just to achieve, but to understand. It feels like the administration writes things in such a way, and they don’t want to give you an answer, and it feels like you have to play a game with them to get a straight answer.”
Regarding the upcoming policy discussion for AFBF delegates, Thompson said while there are regional differences for all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico, he feels everyone is on the same page.
“I expect it to be a really fun day, but I think we will all be able to shake hands when we leave the room, and there won’t be too many hard feelings,” Thompson said.
