During its annual fly-in, more than 120 Agricultural Retailers Association members visited 130 congressional offices to promote ARA’s policy priorities. ARA took its priorities to Capitol Hill to push for a Farm Bill finish line and fixes that affect retailers’ day-to-day operations—especially transportation rules, trade uncertainty, and biofuels policy.
“Being engaged, having a voice for the industry is critically important,” says Richard Gupton, ARA’s senior vice president of public policy.
Those policies span the Farm Bill, transportation, trade, labor and more.
The fly-in occurred on the same day of the scheduled markup session for the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 (the skinny Farm Bill). And Gupton joined The Scoop podcast to give a recap, a policy outlook, and more than a handful of reasons for retailers to stay engaged in advocacy.
Gupton is encouraged by the bipartisan support of the Farm Bill through the House Agriculture Committee, and he expects the senate version to be similar.
Regarding transportation, Gupton says retailers need drivers to help move products to farmer customers—a key service provided in their business. The seasonal CDL program was started in 1992, which provides the ability to hire drivers on a temporary basis during peak times of the year. However, updates are needed.
“Congressman Tracy Mann, a Republican of Kansas, and Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, Republican, have introduced identical bills to address issues with the heavier trucks, heavier pickup trucks and trailers,” Gupton says. “The technology over time has gotten actually better and safer to haul these products. But the weight of those trailers and truck combinations has also gotten over 26,000 pounds and that makes it potentially considered a Class A vehicle, where you need a Class A CDL. The seasonal ag CDL was set up for only for what they call Class B drivers. And so, for decades, it hadn’t been an issue until these heavier trailers and trucks hauling the same amount of products.”
Gupton says the bills will provide for regulatory clarity and update the language to modern equipment and needs.
Other policy highlights from the conversation include:
- Trade, tariffs and supply chain
- MAHA
- Energy and year-round E15
- The Executive Order on domestic glyphosate production
At the end of the fly-in, ARA’s Board of Directors met with six Trump Administration senior officials:
- Justin Schwab, the General Counsel for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
- Ambassador Julie Callahan, the Ambassador to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and Chief Agricultural Negotiator of the United States
- Courtney Knupp, the Senior Advisor to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary and the Senior Policy Advisor to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins for Trade and Food Safety
- Kelsey Barnes, the Senior Advisor to the USDA Secretary for Rural Development, Biofuels, and Research, Education, and Economics
- Kyle Kunkler, the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Calley Means, the Senior Advisor to U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy
“We covered a lot of ground in a few hours at the White House meeting. But it was a productive discussion, a frank discussion, let’s put it that way, to make sure that our members and the ag retailers’ voices are heard,” Gupton says.
Advocacy Is Ongoing
“You can take action on the Farm Bill; we urgently need support, and our members and industry to weigh in with their lawmakers,” Gupton says. “The MAHA movement is certainly weighing in, so we need to weigh on that. Weigh in on the E15 year-round legislation and Congressman Mann’s and Senator Moran’s seasonal CDL bill.”
