American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall didn’t pull any punches during his keynote address to the organization at its 100th annual convention. An Agri-Pulse report says Duvall called 2018 a “terrible year” for American agriculture.

Roughly 7,000 people were in the audience as Duvall said farmers experienced a “perfect storm this past year.” The only exception came on some of the organization’s key policy issues. There were a lot of victories on the agricultural policy front, including tax reform that lowered taxes for just about every farmer and rancher. That included a doubling of the estate tax for farm families, a long-sought goal for Farm Bureau. One of the biggest victories was passing the 2018 Farm Bill.

One of the brightest spots on the regulatory front is the new Clean Water rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Duvall notes that, of the 28 deregulatory actions taken by the Trump Administration, half of them involve agriculture. Looking ahead to 2019, Duvall encouraged members to gear up for Farm Bureau tackling challenges like farm labor, trade issues, as well as infrastructure needs like broadband expansion.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday left a city shut down by a funding dispute with Congress and the year’s first snowfall to promote his trade policies and the new farm law at a farm convention in Louisiana.

President Trump Delivers Remarks at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th Annual Convention https://t.co/tMWj5zj3K0

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 14, 2019

Trump arrived just outside of New Orleans behind schedule because a mechanical issue slightly delayed Air Force One’s departure from Washington on Day 24 of the partial government shutdown. A maintenance crew needed to reset an indicator light before takeoff, the White House said.

The president was greeted at the airport by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, whose department is among those affected by the shutdown. Trump was also welcomed to the state by a trio of Louisiana elected Republicans — Rep. Steve Scalise and Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy — and a man carrying a boxed king cake, a local treat.

Trump was expected to discuss his trade policies, which have affected farmers, and an $867 billion, 10-year the farm bill he recently signed into law.

Some farmers attending the American Farm Bureau Federation convention said they continue to support Trump despite the difficulty they’re feeling.

Outside the convention center, several hundred demonstrators gathered holding signs that said “Open the Government Now” and “Deport Trump” and chanting “Build Bridges Not Walls” and “Love Trumps Hate.”

A stalemate between Trump and congressional Democrats over $5.7 billion the president is requesting to build his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall led several U.S. departments and agencies to halt services deemed non-essential just before Christmas. Federal departments that were unaffected by the shutdown ended up closing Monday after Washington was blanketed by anywhere from six inches to a foot of snow over the weekend.

Richard Musel of Bennington, Nebraska, a corn and soybean farmer, described business as “marginal” but said he doesn’t blame Trump. Musel says Trump has been good to farmers and had no choice but to get tough with China. He criticized Democrats for refusing to fund the wall.

“He’s asking for such a small amount.” Musel said of the president. “All they are is a bunch of bullies. That’s the Democrats. Our president is pretty stern. His plan, it’ll work.”

Lemuel and Shelby Ricks grow cotton, soybeans, wheat and peanuts on their farm in Conway, North Carolina. They say they’ve been hurt by low commodity prices and the shutdown. They can’t apply for financial aid the federal government is giving farmers hurt by Trump’s trade policies because of the shutdown.

The Rickses said they voted for Trump and will again in 2020, contending the country will benefit from Trump’s policies in the long run.

“We’re not giving up on him now,” Shelby Ricks said.

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President Donald Trump will address the American Farm Bureau’s 100th Annual Convention on Monday, January 14th, in New Orleans, Louisiana. It’s the second-straight year that the president will make an appearance at the Farm Bureau event. The convention runs from January 11 through January 16.

Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall says his organization is honored to host the president once again. “President Trump has made agriculture a clear priority, giving farmers and ranchers a seat at the table on the top issues affecting our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities,” Duvall says. “What better way to celebrate 100 years of Farm Bureau than to welcome the president of the United States to our centennial celebration?”

The president spoke last year at the 99th event in Nashville. In remarks to the members, he said he was disappointed that it was “only” the 99th event. “You have to understand,” he told members, “100 is so much cooler, I have to be honest. So, I will be back next year.” Farm Bureau Vice President Scott VanderWal of South Dakota says a presidential speech will “really cap off the centennial.”

The National Corn Growers Association is committed to creating new market opportunities abroad for U.S. corn producers, which means more market access around the world. It also means securing the important trade markets of Canada and Mexico, getting some stability back into those relationships with the U.S.A.’s North American trading partners.

NCGA says that the first NAFTA has been an unprecedented success in helping America’s corn producers. Going back to 1994, American corn exports to these regional partners have increased 300 percent. Mexico is now the top destination for U.S. corn exports, recent corn exports to Mexico were up 13 percent for 2017-2018 when compared to the previous year.

The total reached a record high of 15.7 million tons, or 618 million bushels. As Congress begins to consider the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, it is imperative that the Administration not withdraw from NAFTA before the new agreement is officially ratified. Earlier reports have President Trump considering early withdrawal of NAFTA as a way to pressure Congress into approving the deal. However, NCGA says those markets are vital to U.S. corn farmers and far too important to potentially put at risk.

Ten Republicans joined Democrats in the House of Representatives to pass a fiscal year 2019 agriculture appropriations bill. A DTN report says the bill is not supported by Senate and House Republican leadership, or by President Trump. It’s part of an effort by Democrats in the House to end the partial government shutdown, the vote was 243 to 183.

The bill itself was the same appropriations bill that the Senate passed last year 100 to 0. As the House voting was in process, President Trump and certain cabinet members were making a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to make his case for funding a border wall as well as other security measures.

Debate over the ag appropriations bill lasted an hour, during the discussion, Georgia Representative Sanford Bishop led fellow Democrats in urging colleagues to pass the bill as part of an effort to get the shutdown ended and government reopened. House Democrats stressed during the debate that the government shutdown is putting stress on Americans, offering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as an example. They said while the Trump Administration has a plan to get SNAP benefits out in February, there’s no plan after that.