AFBF President Zippy Duvall Responds to Illinois Farm Bureau’s Expulsion, Lawsuit
In the Hoosier State, Indiana Farm Bureau leaders share a great relationship with American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF)—the national organization. However, the same cannot be said for our neighbors in Illinois.
“We love Illinois farmers. We want them to be a part of us. We want to work this out and get past this bump in the road,” says Zippy Duvall, President of American Farm Bureau Federation.
Several months ago, Illinois Farm Bureau decided to allow its affiliate insurance company, Country Financial, to no longer require Farm Bureau memberships for non-farm insurance policyholders beginning January 1, 2025.
That decision ultimately led AFBF board members to vote in favor of expelling Illinois Farm Bureau from its organization. As a result, Illinois Farm Bureau has recently filed a lawsuit to keep their Farm Bureau name.
In an interview with Hoosier Ag Today’s C.J. Miller, Duvall says the overall dispute has to do with ensuring that farmers maintain control of the organization.
“We’re are organization that was started by farmers, run by farmers and controlled by farmers for 105 years and it’s been successful under the model that we’ve got,” says Duvall. “There is no reason why we should be changing our model to something else when it’s been proven successful for 105 years. Farmers own and operate and control this organization and we need to make sure we can maintain that control.”
Of the nearly 400,000 members of Illinois Farm Bureau, fewer than 20 percent—approximately 78,000—are farmers.
Following the expulsion vote by AFBF board members, Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan issued the following response:
“We believe AFBF is choosing to put our farms, our families, and our communities at risk at a time when we need support through federal policy. In short, we believe AFBF has chosen to break its promises to Illinois farmers.
“We have no desire to leave AFBF and we will fight to stay. We made good faith efforts to mediate on Monday and AFBF walked away from the table. I want to reassure you we are committed to defending the rights of IFB, our county Farm Bureaus, and our farmer members throughout the state.”
Overall, Duvall still refers to Illinois Farm Bureau members as “family” and is optimistic that both sides can still come to an agreement.
“In any organization is always some challenges within the family—and they are part of our family—and we’re just looking for the answer to get past this bump in the road,” adds Duvall.
Illinois Farm Bureau’s membership in the American Farm Bureau Federation will end on Friday, Dec. 20.
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