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Agriculture still has regulation concerns

January 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

It is no secret the relationship between the agriculture industry and the Environmental Protection Agency has at times been contentious, to say the least.

As a new Administrator for EPA has yet to be named, Associate Director of Legislative Affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Kent Bacus says it doesn’t matter who is at the top of EPA – there are a lot of things already in motion. 

“One of the big goals for this administration is climate change,” he says.  “With that you also have a lot of the issues that are still out there like water regulations and air and dust regulations.  Those are things that we are going to have to be sure that agriculture’s voice is heard.”

Otherwise, Bacus tells Brownfield, they will continue to plague the industry.

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, Livestock, News Tagged With: , ,

Ag over-regulation is election issue

November 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

One of the big issues for farmers and ranchers in this presidential election cycle is what many see as a trend towards over-regulation of the agricultural industry.

Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley believes that, if President Obama is re-elected, it will be more of the same.  But Grassley thinks it would be different under a Romney administration.

“There’s two things—one, you’d have immediately put on hold a lot of regulations that the bureaucracy has been working on under Obama, because a new president wants a chance to review all that stuff,” Grassley says. “So that would be an immediate holdup of a lot things we think are bad under this administration.

“Then, I think, as you get into a new administration, that you’d have fewer regulations—but it wouldn’t mean you didn’t have any regulations.”

However, at a recent Presidential Forum on Agriculture in Des Moines, former Iowa Agriculture Commissioner Patty Judge disputed Republican assertions that the Obama administration has somehow been “anti-agriculture”.  Judge pointed to the Obama presidency’s track record on biofuels, record farm income and record farm exports, while at the same time focusing on a strong safety net for agricultural producers. 

AUDIO: Chuck Grassley (1:14 MP3)

 

Filed Under: Crops, Dairy, Events/Organizations, Livestock, News, USDA/Government Tagged With: , , ,

IBCA sets dates for area meetings

October 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Indiana Beef Cattle Association in cooperation with Purdue University have set dates for area beef meetings.  Beginning in December and ending in January – IBCA and Purdue will hold ten meetings that will feature valuable information on beef issues, policies, programs, and up to date information from the IBCA and the Indiana Beef Council.

IBCA Executive Vice-President Joe Moore says in order to serve the needs of our members – we need to hear from them about the issues and opportunities they face each day.

Because the new manure application rules and regulations affect producers of all sizes –  Purdue Extension will give presentations on the new rules to insure beef producers are fully informed.

A complete schedule of meetings can be found at www.indianabeef.org.

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, Human Interest, Livestock, News Tagged With: , ,

Nebraska official: Drought amplifies other concerns

October 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Federal, state and local officials met Wednesday in Omaha to discuss the Midwestern drought and strategies to mitigate the impact of the drought on farmers and rural communities.

In opening remarks, Nebraska director of agriculture Greg Ibach thanked the USDA for program adjustments that have been made to give producers more flexibility in addressing drought conditions.

But Ibach pointed out the drought has also “exaggerated” some of the other concerns that farmers and ranchers have.

“Energy costs are soaring and causing much concern in the agricultural sector.  Just filling up your semi to haul the corn in and out of the field can cost as much as 800 dollars each time you stop at the diesel barrel,” Ibach says, “and this week, we have watched those prices climb even more.”

Ibach says regulatory burdens continue to be a concern to farmers and ranchers.

“We continue to have to, as a producer, look to higher outside consultants to help us understand and comply with those reporting and regulation requirements,” he says.

Ibach’s comments were echoed by farmers and ranchers at various times throughout the day.

AUDIO: Greg Ibach (2:00 MP3)

 

Filed Under: Crops, Events/Organizations, Livestock, News, USDA/Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

A visit with former Ag Secretary and USTR Clayton Yeutter

October 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Clayton Yeutter served as U.S. Trade Representative in the Reagan Administration and then as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under George H.W. Bush. 

Yeutter was recently in Lincoln, Nebraska, where Brownfield’s Ken Anderson visited with him about current issues surrounding farm policy, regulations and trade.

AUDIO: Clayton Yeutter (7:06 MP3)

 

Filed Under: Feature Programs, Rural Issues Tagged With: , , ,

Cost of increased regulations on animal ag

March 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

What impact will the cost of increased regulations on animal welfare have on U.S. producers and consumers? 

At the NIAA conference in Denver, Andre Williamson with the research firm Agralytic provided some answers to that question.  Williamson discussed findings from a recent Agralytic study which looked at the impact that hog housing and antimicrobial restrictions have had in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark.   

The study showed that regulations imposed by federal, state, and local governments can make domestic farmers and ranchers uncompetitive with competitors overseas and drive them out of business. Just as manufacturing and service jobs have been “offshored” to Mexico, China, South Korea, India, and other countries, the researchers concluded that excessive regulation could eventually cause animal agriculture to move offshore.  

In an interview with Brownfield, Williamson says this could lead to higher consumer prices.

AUDIO: Andre Williamson (6:39 MP3)

 

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: , , , ,

Colorado State University president at NIAA

March 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Another one of the speakers at the NIAA conference was Dr. Anthony Frank, DVM, president of Colorado State University.   He made several interesting points about how regulations are impacting animal agriculture.  We had the opportunity to visit with him following his presentation.

AUDIO: Dr. Anthony Frank (4:42 MP3)

 

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: , , , ,

Nebraskans speak out against proposed child labor rules

March 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Nebraska Farm Bureau has launched “Let Me Get My Hands Dirty,” a year-long campaign for adults and children to voice their concerns over the Department of Labor’s proposed regulation dealing with children working in agriculture. The campaign’s theme centers on the idea of allowing young people to continue to “get their hands dirty” on the farm because the rule greatly limits what children under the age of 15 could do on any farm or ranch.

 “As I stand here today surrounded by hundreds of blue jacket-wearing Nebraska FFA students, I am here to say that Nebraska Farm Bureau will not stand by and allow the DOL to attack the core and heritage of Nebraska agriculture,” Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson said at a news conference held during the 2012 Nebraska State FFA Convention in Lincoln. 

Prior to the news conference, Brownfield visited with Nelson about their campaign.

AUDIO: Steve Nelson (3:56 MP3) 

Despite assurances from DOL officials that their regulations would not affect FFA or 4-H programs, FFA students and their advisers say they are still not fully convinced.

Lexy Nuesch, a member of the Pierce, Nebraska FFA chapter, shared her concerns at the news conference.

AUDIO: Lexy Nuesch (2:08 MP3)

Stuart, Nebraska ag instructor and FFA adviser Monty Larsen says he is concerned about the impact the regulations could have on the FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) and explains why he still isn’t comfortable with the assurances from DOL.

AUDIO: Monty Larsen (2:00 MP3)

 

 

Filed Under: Feature Programs, Rural Issues Tagged With: , , , , ,

The economic effects of regulations

March 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Ask livestock producers about their biggest concerns and “excessive regulations” will probably be one of their top answers.

Dr. David Anderson is a professor and Extension livestock and food products economist with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.  His presentation at the NIAA conference was entitled “Supply Chain and the Economic Effects of Regulations”.  Afterwards, we visited with Anderson, who admits it’s a tough topic to address because no one really knows the true costs—and, in some cases, the true benefits—that regulations bring to animal agriculture.

AUDIO: David Anderson (8:33 MP3)

 

 

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: , , ,

Farm Bureau applauds Supreme Court ruling

March 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is applauding this week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that landowners may sue the EPA to void compliance orders issued by the agency in its enforcement of the Clean Water Act (CWA).

AFBF president Bob Stallman says his group is pleased with the ruling favoring property owners.

The case involved an Idaho couple whose efforts to construct a home were halted by EPA based on the agency’s assertion that their home site was a wetland. Some observers say the ruling substantially curbs EPA’s power to enforce compliance orders in environmental matters. 

Stallman says that, while allowing landowners to sue EPA is a start, it’s still up to Congress to clarify the reach of the Clean Water Act.

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, News, USDA/Government Tagged With: , ,
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