Stallman Stresses Continued Efforts in Agriculture

The American Farm Bureau Federation will be electing a new president today at their 97th Annual Convention. Retiring President Bob Stallman says hard work and determination have brought success for farmers, ranchers and the rural economy during his 16 years of leadership at the helm of the American Farm Bureau. He says farmers are resilient and must continue to stay ahead of the issues facing agriculture
Stallman: “Well, it is sort of like being on the farm. When you run in to a problem, you don’t wish it away, you get to work and fix it. That is the key to fixing these issues facing agriculture. We have to get out, be ready to work, work hard, find solutions and implement them. That doesn’t stop we’ve got to keep at.”
Stallman says the fight on issues like the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the U.S. rule must continue
Stallman: “We’ve fought a good fight in 2015 but in 2016 we’ve got to continue the fight. I think we can be successful if we keep our shoulder to the plow — so to speak — and keep moving forward.”
Reflecting on his time as President of the American Farm Bureau, Stallman says he’s proud of the work done by Farm Bureau, but adds there’s more to go
Stallman: “Well, there have been a lot successes and there have been some areas that we not been successful on. The work we’ve done on tax issues on behalf of farmers and ranchers — we’ve been successful not totally. We passed very important trade agreements that were good for American agriculture and we’ve got more to work on. I guess the theme is you have successes but then you have to move to the next issue, the next challenge and continue to achieve successes to keep American agriculture strong.”