Five delegates from Oklahoma Farm Bureau helped set grassroots policy at the 2025 American Farm Bureau convention in San Antonio that will guide the policy efforts of the nation’s leading farm organization for the coming year.
Farmers and ranchers from around the nation gathered on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to consider, discuss and vote upon proposed changes to the AFBF policy created and submitted by grassroots Farm Bureau members.
Oklahoma was represented in the business meeting by Rodd Moesel, OKFB president; Roger Moore, district six director; Mike Clark, LeFlore County, Cyndi Mackey, Women’s Leadership Committee district five member; and Jacob Beck, Young Farmers and Ranchers chairman.
Grassroots policy topics addressed by delegates included trade, agricultural labor, tax policy, animal ID, energy policy and more.
OKFB President Rodd Moesel said the new presidential administration along with new leadership in the U.S. House and Senate makes this a critical time to set strong policy to guide the work of Farm Bureau for the coming year.
“There’s a lot of change that is happening, and we are all trying to figure out how to work our way through this change,” Moesel said. “Our industry, in particular, is very dependent upon trade. Most of our commodities rely not only on selling to the United States, but also selling to our world.”
“Farm Bureau demonstrated what truly makes it the voice of American agriculture,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Delegates from each state Farm Bureau and Puerto Rico directly addressed the challenges and opportunities facing farmers and ranchers. The policies they set today give us a roadmap to work with the new administration and Congress to address the needs of rural America. It includes the passage of a new farm bill, enacting regulatory reform, and creating new markets for the men and women who
are dedicated to keeping America’s pantries stocked.”
Delegates also adopted policy supporting the development and sale of domestically sourced sustainable aviation fuel, including expanding the list of acceptable conservation practices for feedstock eligibility.
They strengthened policy on alternative energy production, including increasing the responsibility of energy companies to manage land used for development, and prioritizing energy production on land not suitable for agriculture.
Recognizing the challenges of maintaining a strong agriculture workforce, delegates voted to stabilize labor costs to avoid drastic swings that put the economic sustainability of farms at risk. They also recommended the AFBF board study potential alternatives to the current Adverse Effect Wage Rate methodology used for the H-2A program.
On trade, delegates added policy in support of a United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement review process to encourage new opportunities while protecting U.S. agriculture from unfair competition.
Policy on rural broadband was revised to support requiring companies that win broadband loans or grants to quickly complete projects in underserved rural areas. Delegates also directed AFBF to press more forcefully for reform of the current requirements for small-scale meat, dairy and value-added processing facilities.
OKFB President Rodd Moesel was also re-elected to a two-year term on the AFBF board of directors during regional caucuses held on Jan. 28.
