WASHINGTON,
Jan. 6, 2016 - A conversation with Bob Stallman reflects the time he’s spent at the helm of the nation’s largest
agricultural organization. It’s not really about Bob Stallman. It’s about
agriculture. It’s about the issues. And it’s all about the American Farm Bureau
Federation.
On
Saturday, in Orlando, Florida, AFBF will open the final convention of
Stallman’s 16-year, eight-term tenure. He’s hoping to avoid more of the pomp
and circumstance that he’s being feted with, including a ceremony at USDA’s
Washington headquarters where USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will proclaim
Wednesday as “Bob Stallman Appreciation Day.”
Stallman,
a rice and cattle producer from Columbus, Texas, has never been one for
personal accolades, choosing instead to deflect credit onto the organization
he’s served since January 2000. In a conversation with Agri-Pulse in December, questions posed about his personal
accomplishments were typically either dismissed or redirected toward AFBF
achievements. However, Stallman is about the only one in Washington
agricultural circles that doesn’t have high praise for his tenure.
Senate
Agriculture Committee Chair Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, said Stallman’s time at AFBF
represented “true leadership” empowering AFBF to “successfully (lead) the
charge in representing a large variety of farming interests.” AFBF
Communications Director Mace Thornton said he’ll miss Stallman’s powerful
podium presence, adding that his ability to choose his words was among the best
Thornton has ever seen. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack added to the chorus,
saying Stallman has led AFBF “with a steady hand and a champion’s heart.”
“Bob is
the kind of leader who makes people in the business proud of what they do,”
Vilsack said in a statement to Agri-Pulse.
“He has inspired countless agricultural leaders, past and present, including
myself. I am honored to call him a strong partner and a good friend.”
Stallman,
however, sees things differently.
“It’s not
about the person sitting here,” Stallman said from his sprawling office at AFBF’s
Washington headquarters, “it’s about the organization. Everything I’ve done,
I’ve always viewed it that way.”
“I have
absolutely no illusions that once I step down from this position, that Bob
Stallman going up to the Hill by himself is going to have (the same) influence
compared to Bob Stallman previously as president of AFBF, and that’s just a
fact,” he added. “My role has been to encourage a working environment that got
us to that point both between our leaders and also here in the office with our
staff, and that’s what I’ve tried to do.”
Under
Stallman’s leadership, AFBF lobbied on three farm bills, countless federal
regulations, and an occasional trade agreement for good measure. Away from the
organization’s policy efforts, he oversaw the move of AFBF’s headquarters from
suburban Chicago to Washington, as well as expenditures like the purchase of
the IDEAg Group, which now puts on five farm shows annually across the country
and expanded AFBF’s own convention trade show.
In the
last several years, the organization crafted the “Ditch the Rule” narrative that would become synonymous with the fight against
EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule. Stallman said one of his few regrets is not
seeing the rule killed, by Congress or the courts, before he leaves office. He
says he would also liked to have seen closure of some kind on the immigration
issue, and approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, rather than passing on
those issues to his successor.
That Ditch
the Rule campaign, which Stallman called one of AFBF’s “most effective
efforts,” was a credit to Stallman’s constant push to find a path forward that
was right for his membership, Dale Moore, the federation’s executive director
of public policy, told Agri-Pulse.
“His
leadership on those kinds of issues changed the tenor,” Moore said, noting that
Stallman always found it best to find creative ways to address the policy goal
at hand. “We focus on the issues, we stay away from focusing on the
personalities. One of the quickest ways to get in trouble with Bob Stallman is
to make an issue about a personality … because the policy is what needs to be
focused on.”
As a sign of Stallman’s influence in
Washington, Moore pointed to an October event just days after the Obama
administration announced completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade
agreement strongly backed by AFBF and many others in agriculture. President
Barack Obama held a roundtable discussion at USDA headquarters with agriculture
and business leaders, including dignitaries like Vilsack and U.S. Trade
Representative Michael Froman and Stallman was seated next to the president.
That placement – which Moore, a former USDA employee, assured Stallman was no
accident – was symbolic on many levels, both of the administration’s desire to
have agriculture throw its collective weight behind the agreement, but also of
Stallman as a representative of American agriculture.
As his
final convention nears, Stallman said he’s never been a very emotional person, so
he doesn’t expect the convention events to get sappy or overly sentimental. He
pointed out that the organization hosted a retirement event for him at its
“Taste of the States” reception in Washington, and “that’s enough.” Down to the
end of his tenure, Stallman will be insistent that the focus be not on him, but
on the organization.
“I already
decided – in fact I already demanded, to be honest – that this convention is
about the election of the new guy -- it’s not about Bob Stallman,” he said. “I’m
satisfied that this place is better now than when I came, and I hope that the
next guy makes it even better.”
#30
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