Cattle and rice producer Bob Stallman will retire as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation in January, after 16 years as leader of the organization. A successor will be chosen by delegates at the farm group’s annual convention, scheduled for Orlando, Florida, from Jan. 10-13. Stallman was 47 and president of the Texas Farm Bureau when he ran against 14-year incumbent Dean Kleckner, 67, an Iowa hog farmer, in 2000 to lead the largest U.S. farm group, now with 6 million members. AFBF presidents serve a two-year term. Stallman is the federation’s 11th president.
With a large lobbying staff and a nationwide network of members, AFBF is regarded as the most influential farm group in Washington. It backs a strong federal safety net for farmers and defends private property rights. The farm group is a vocal supporter of comprehensive immigration reform. AFBF spearheaded rural opposition to the “waters of the United States” rule, issued earlier this year, that defines the upstream reach of clean-water law as a regulatory over-reach that could control dry ditches in farm fields. The group lost an appellate court decision on July 6 in a lawsuit against the EPA “pollution diet” for the Chesapeake Bay. The farm group said the agency put too much of the burden on agriculture to reduce erosion and nutrient runoff.