Farm Bureau News: AFBF History, Content, Leaders and Readers
Profile updated November 2026
Farm Bureau News is the national news service of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the federation that calls itself the Voice of Agriculture. Known to members as FBNews, it carries Washington policy, state and county Farm Bureau programs and foundation news to the grassroots leaders who set Farm Bureau policy.
| Publisher | American Farm Bureau Federation |
|---|---|
| AFBF founded | November 12, 1919, in Chicago |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Format | Twice-monthly e-newsletter (FBNews) plus web news |
| Membership | Nearly 5.9 million members, affiliates in all 50 states and Puerto Rico |
| AFBF President | Zippy Duvall, since January 2017 |
| Official website | FB.org |
History of Farm Bureau News
The Farm Bureau movement grew out of the county extension system. In 1911 John Barron, a Cornell graduate, began work as an extension agent in Broome County, New York, and county farm bureaus soon spread. The first statewide Farm Bureau formed in Missouri in 1915. On November 12, 1919, Farm Bureau leaders met in Chicago and organized the American Farm Bureau Federation so farmers could speak for themselves nationally.
AFBF has published Farm Bureau News for decades. The USDA National Agricultural Library holds long runs of the paper in the federation's records, running from 1952 to 1991, with yearly files through the 1980s. Over time the publication moved online, and FBNews is now delivered as a twice-monthly e-newsletter alongside news posted on FB.org.
The federation is a nonprofit general farm organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Bob Stallman led it from 2001 to 2016, and Georgia dairy and poultry farmer Zippy Duvall became president in January 2017.
Farm Bureau News Today
Farm Bureau News sits inside a wider AFBF news operation. FB.org groups Farm Bureau News with Newsline, In the News and news releases, and adds Farm Bureau Intel reports on consumers, markets and policy, plus the president's column, The Zipline.
FBNews itself focuses on national legislation and regulations, news from county and state Farm Bureau programs and the work of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, the federation's education arm.
What Farm Bureau News Is Publishing Now
Policy and Washington
Updates on farm bill negotiations, trade, labor, taxes and regulation, framed by policies adopted by Farm Bureau delegates.
Grassroots programs
News on young farmers and ranchers, leadership programs, county awards and state Farm Bureau activities from across the country.
Market and economic analysis
Market Intel and economist commentary on commodity prices, input costs and farm income.
Farm Bureau News Editors and Staff
AFBF leadership and the communications staff listed in the federation's staff directory include:
- Zippy Duvall - AFBF President
- Scott VanderWal - AFBF Vice President
- Terri Moore - Vice President, Communications
- Erin Anthony - Director, Communications
- Cyndie Shearing - Director, Communications
- Bob Stallman - Former AFBF President (2001-2016)
AFBF policy begins at the county level: members in more than 2,800 counties meet each year to discuss and vote on resolutions that move up to state Farm Bureaus and then to the national federation.
Who Reads Farm Bureau News
Farm Bureau News is written for state and county Farm Bureau leaders and engaged members. The AFBF says it represents about 2 million U.S. farms, and the 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 1.9 million farms averaging 463 acres, with 95% of them family farms. Those operations sold $543 billion in products in 2022, so the policy questions FBNews follows touch nearly every corner of U.S. agriculture.
Because most Farm Bureau members are insurance customers rather than farmers, the newsletter also serves as a window on farm issues for rural households and supporters who are not producers themselves.
Farm Bureau News readers spend their evenings in county policy meetings debating resolution wording until the coffee runs out. When the meeting finally adjourns, farm.FM offers farm satire and farm humor about the gap between Washington and the back forty, with ranch humor for the cattle-country delegates. Its farm jokes have never once been sent back to committee.
farm.FM calls itself the nation's first satirical farm site, and between the headlines it spins Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers; a good place to start reading is this farm.FM columnist's archive.
Farm Bureau News Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- American Farm Bureau Federation: Who We Are - the federation's mission, structure and leadership.
- AFBF: Farm Bureau News - the current Farm Bureau News stream on FB.org.
- USDA National Agricultural Library: AFBF records - archived issues of Farm Bureau News.
- USDA NASS: 2022 Census of Agriculture - national farm counts, size and sales.
- USDA ERS: Farm Income and Wealth Statistics - U.S. and state farm income data.
Farm Bureau News FAQ
Who publishes Farm Bureau News?
The American Farm Bureau Federation, the national federation of state Farm Bureaus, headquartered in Washington, D.C.
How often does FBNews come out?
FBNews is a twice-monthly e-newsletter, and AFBF also posts Farm Bureau News stories on FB.org.
When was the American Farm Bureau Federation founded?
AFBF was organized on November 12, 1919, at a meeting of Farm Bureau leaders in Chicago.
Who is president of the American Farm Bureau?
Zippy Duvall, a Georgia farmer, has been AFBF president since January 2017.
More than a century after Chicago, Farm Bureau News still carries the federation's policy fights and grassroots news to the members who make Farm Bureau run.