News

State ag officials want more input on federal programs

State agriculture officials are calling for more cooperation between the federal government and the state ag departments that have to administer federally-mandated programs—so-called “cooperative federalism”.

The president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), Nebraska ag director Greg Ibach, said federal agencies need to do a better job of soliciting input from the states before implementing ag programs.

“We want to work with them ahead of their comment periods so that we can have a better dialogue and a better chance of moving into that comment period with something that will be accepted by agriculture and accepted by the general public, rather than coming out with something that everybody is very concerned about,” Ibach said.

The situation has worsened under the current administration, Ibach said.

“I think we’ve seen an escalation in what our members at NASDA feel is a more hostile—or a quick move to regulatory with consulting—during the last administration than we have felt in previous administrations.”

Ibach cited as examples the EPA’s WOTUS rule and the Department of Labor’s attempt to impose stricter ag youth labor laws on agriculture.  The latest concern is the EPA’s proposal to increase requirements for the certification of pesticide applicators.  Ibach said the states do not have the resources to implement changes to pesticide applicator certification.

Link to NASDA news release

AUDIO: Excerpts from Ibach’s news conference at the recent NASDA annual meeting in Lincoln