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AFBF requested a staff position in the new Office of Homeland Security. President Bob Stallman said, "We must continue to increase surveillance and ensure that adequate USDA resources are available to combat any posed biological threat or mobilize against any occurrence."

AFBF filed a statement with 11 other national agricultural organizations to reaffirm their commitment to effective implementation and enforcement of sound, science-based measures to prevent Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States. Active surveillance in the United States has not revealed a single case of BSE.

Farm Bureau expressed public comments responding to the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed rulemaking for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).

AFBF contends that layering federal regulations on top of existing state water quality rules is not needed and would unfairly burden America's farmers and ranchers.

AFBF supports President Bush’s comprehensive energy plan that will help ease the burden of high energy and input costs on America’s farmers, ranchers and consumers. AFBF said, "America’s farmers and ranchers anxiously anticipate hearing more about the role ethanol and other farm-grown renewable energy will play in the President’s plan. Consumers want a reliable energy supply, they want energy that helps improve air quality and increases our energy independence. All those needs can be satisfied with the help of America’s agricultural producers and the clean-burning energy we help create."

AFBF pushed for passage of the 2002 Farm Bill this year. The House has approved the Farm Security Act, and Senate approval is pending. The bill allows producers the voluntary choice to update their base acres, adds counter-cyclical support based on target prices to the already-established 2002 level of transition payments and provides both flexibility and predictability. The bill also provides producers with more options to implement progressive conservation practices on their land.

AFBF asked the Environmental Protection Agency to deny California's request to waive the federal oxygen requirement for reformulated gasoline, which it did. The denial paves the way for agricultural products such as ethanol to be used as the replacement fuel additive.

President Bush's signature on the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act of 2001 represents a long, hard-fought victory for America's farmers and Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau is proud to have been a vocal supporter of this law that provides immediate tax relief, retains stepped-up basis for capital gains taxes and puts the death tax on its last leg.

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Bob Stallman was appointed to the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade. The committee provides the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative information and advice on trade negotiating objectives, bargaining positions, and other matters related to the development, implementation and administration of U.S. agricultural trade policy.

AFBF advocated renewal of normal trade relations with China to help improve the trade ledger for America's farmers and ranchers now and in the future. As the sixth largest export market for U.S. agricultural goods, stable access to China's market is essential to the U.S. agricultural sector.