SAN ANTONIO — Farmers and ranchers at the 106th American Farm Bureau Annual Convention approved a stampede of policies on Jan. 28, including several recommendations on labor, education, agritourism, drones, and more, which originated from Michigan Farm Bureau’s (MFB) grassroots, member-driven policy process.
“Michigan Farm Bureau was well represented at the American Farm Bureau annual convention this year,” said MFB President Ben LaCross.
“On the policy side, our board of directors and our delegates advocated for Michigan member policy very effectively. On the delegate floor, we passed really good language that helps advance our policy on the labor issue, on livestock animal identification, on the role of the USDA, and we really did some good work for the future of agriculture.”
Agricultural workforce
Many farms in Michigan, like dairy and hog operations, use Temporary Nonimmigrant (TN) visas to fill critical farm jobs by bringing in workers from Canada and Mexico on a three-year renewable visa.
Michigan Farm Bureau backed a policy addition supporting the utilization of TN visas to enhance the agricultural workforce and the availability of year-round labor, as well as calling for the state department to provide the rationale for TN visa application denials within 30 days. The policy also supports a review of the agricultural job types that are eligible for TN visas — which hasn’t been updated since 1994.
“The TN Visa program has more flexibility than the H-2A program,” LaCross said. “It allows workers to come over with specialized skills to help for a longer time on some farms. So, we like the flexibility that this new language gives us to be able to potentially expand the usage of that program for farmers in the state of Michigan.”
Michigan has long been a leader at the national level when it comes to labor issues, LaCross said.
“When Michigan speaks on labor issues at the AFBF level, folks listen, and today was no different,” he added. “Our delegates and our board of directors did a really great job of advocating for Michigan member policy on the labor front, and it's clear that other states follow our lead.”
Unmanned aircraft systems
Michigan-led policy calling for federal incentives and strategies to encourage U.S.-based manufacturing of key component parts for unmanned aircraft systems was approved by AFBF delegates.
With the U.S. ag spray drone market currently facing overwhelming domination from Chinese company DJI — and a ban on foreign tech looming that could result in those drones being grounded — the policy reflects the need for farmers to have an alternative.
LaCross said the government can play a key role in bolstering the industry so our farmers can remain competitive.
“A lot of our Michigan members are utilizing drone technology on their farms, and that's excellent,” LaCross said. “This AFBF policy advances the idea that we want to support that, and we want drone manufacturing and data collection to stay in the United States.”
Agritourism
Agritourism policy is now included in AFBF’s policies for the first time, thanks to a Michigan-led effort that supports programming “to enhance and promote agritourism, the development of guidelines and best practices, as well as on-farm direct marketing opportunities.”
This language is an important first step to future agritourism policies, LaCross noted.
“Our members are really proud of the fact that Michigan is a great state for agritourism, and a lot of our members have agritourism operations on their own farm that help support the things that they do on their family farms,” LaCross noted.
“So, to be able to offer that as a policy direct from Michigan, and have it passed at the AFBF level is something that our members should be really proud of.”
Cooperatives
A Michigan-driven policy addition was approved which supports cooperatives being included in eligibility for federal grant programs was also accepted by national delegates.
“We have a lot of great cooperatives that support our ag producers in the state of Michigan, and so for them to become eligible for USDA grants and different programs will really help open some doors for them to expand and support Michigan farmers into the future,” LaCross said.
Michigan Farm Bureau members noted that farmer cooperatives could benefit from greater access to some USDA program like Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and some environmental programs that are not always easy to access.
Highways
Michigan-backed policy supports legislation that eases requirements and restrictions on CDL procurement including allowing a CDL learner’s permit at 17 years of age, especially for seasonal agricultural employees.
With the new costly and time consuming CDL training requirements, MFB members believe letting a 17-year-old get a head start on the training would allow them to be able to start driving immediately following their 18th birthday and have the training completed.
Ag education
Citing a need for the current AFBF policy to include specific support for collegiate agricultural organizations, thanks to a Michigan-led amendment, the policy now states that, “High school career and technical education programs for agriculture and the National FFA Organization and college agriculture organizations are vital programs for development of the talent and leadership needed in farming and agricultural service industries.”
A policy recommendation from Michigan encouraging participation in post-secondary agricultural career development organizations — such as Agriculture Future of America, Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences — was also adopted by AFBF delegates.
Education
MFB members also called for the inclusion of adding life skills to national policy that supports increased emphasis on education programs that provide training in citizenship, traditional family values, parenting, ethics, social behavior and interpersonal relations, and AFBF delegates agreed.
Michigan’s policy development process noted that many people may lack the ability to prepare a home-cooked meal and don’t know how to follow a recipe or properly that and handle raw meat and called for the education system to help fill this gap.
Climate
Delegates approved MFB’s suggested policy updates to emphasize transparency in carbon credits markets, which LaCross said is not how the trading system and carbon programs farmers, ranchers, and foresters participate in currently operate.
Forest products were added to the policy, based on Michigan’s suggestion, which includes forestry products — such as cross-laminated timber — that can sequester carbon long-term.
AFBF delegates also agreed with an MFB-backed resolution that aims to provide additional opportunities for what type of compensation farmers can receive for carbon credit, ecosystem services credits, and water quality programs. For example, some companies are looking at offering a premium on products produced with certain environmental benefits such as sequestering carbon or improving water quality.
Policy originated from MFB that supports companies generating revenue in the U.S. prioritizing the purchase of domestic carbon and ecosystem services credits was also approved by delegates, as was new policy that opposes using eminent domain to secure carbon storage space.
As MFB members noted in the policy development process, farmers are concerned with losing their property rights, loss of productivity and loss of cropland as companies are looking to transport and store carbon dioxide.
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