A Conversation with USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden

Join Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden for a candid discussion on how the USDA is bridging the gap between Washington policy and the farm gate during today's challenging agriculture economy. This session offers a direct look at key USDA priorities for 2026, including enacting and disseminating aid, protecting our nation’s food supply, lowering prices for consumers, and making certain rural communities thrive.

Speakers:

• Stephen Vaden, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, USDA
• Zippy Duvall, President, AFBF

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Speaker Details:

Stephen Vaden

Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.

Zippy Duvall

Zippy Duvall leads the American Farm Bureau Federation, serving as president for nearly a decade. He is a third-generation farmer from Georgia. He and his son operate a beef cow herd, raise broiler chickens, and are continuing to restore the farmland that has been in the family for more than 90 years.

Through his leadership, Duvall helped to shape the 2018 farm bill and is working to ensure Congress passes a new, modernized farm bill that effectively supports farmers and ranchers. He has helped defeat misguided regulations, shepherd new trade agreements, and in 2024, stopped Wall Street regulations from hitting farms and played a key role in securing $30 billion in aid for farmers and ranchers hit hard by natural and economic disasters.

Duvall was honored by the National 4-H Council as a founding luminary, a group of influential 4-H alumni. Prior to being elected AFBF president, he was president of the Georgia Farm Bureau and served on the AFBF board of directors. In 1987, he also served on the AFBF board as Young Farmer Committee chair.

Duvall and his wife, Jennifer, were married in December 2021. Both lost their first spouses to illnesses but found new joy in each other, along with their six children and nine grandchildren.