Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, will address farm and ranch families from across the nation at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 99th Annual Convention, Jan. 5-10 in Nashville, Tenn.
“The American Farm Bureau Federation is honored to host our nation’s president,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall, a beef and poultry farmer from Georgia. “President Trump has said all along that he would make sure agriculture has a seat at the table when it comes to the top issues facing America’s farmers and ranchers. Now, it is our privilege to reserve a spot for him at our podium.”
Duvall considers President Trump’s announced speech as a sign of the high regard in which the nation’s chief executive holds America’s farm and ranch families.
“Farmers and ranchers and our rural communities are the bedrock of our nation. President Trump knows that, and his willingness to devote his time to talk directly with Farm Bureau members will be a memorable occasion,” Duvall said.
After three consecutive years of decline in farm sector profits, President Trump will speak to Farm Bureau members during a period of prolonged economic challenge across farm country. Profits have fallen and many farmers have seen declines in equity. Though the Agriculture Department forecasts that farm profits will be relatively stable in 2017, action on key issues on the president’s agenda could help farmers turn the corner as they head into the new year.
“President Trump is fully aware of the economic difficulties farmers and ranchers have gone through these past few years,” Duvall said. “The economic issues he has outlined, including reform of our nation’s tax and regulatory systems, match many of the issues on Farm Bureau’s agenda.”
President Trump’s executive order establishing the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, led by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, highlights the importance his administration places on rural America, according to Duvall.
“President Trump has assigned his team to focus on important pocketbook and quality-of-life issues to strengthen rural America, and those issues are front and center on his to-do list,” Duvall said. “We look forward to hearing the strategies that he and Secretary Perdue share for taking agriculture and rural America down the road toward renewed prosperity.”