Battle DC
March 7, 2011 Although information in the world today can be shared in a heartbeat thanks to the Internet, nothing beats attending a live event. Only here can you as an attendee hear what people and industry representatives really think and are saying without any electronic filters getting in the way.
Last week, I attended the annual Commodity Classic show. A grand event drawing together manufacturers, retailers, growers and trade association representatives, the Commodity Classic is a great place to learn exactly what’s going on in the world of agriculture – not only in rural America but in the nation’s capital as well.
One of the speakers at the 2011 Commodity Classic general session was Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK). Now in his 10th term, Lucas understands agriculture (and is the chairman for the Agriculture Committee). “The farm economy in this country is generally strong,” said Lucas during his speech to the assembled Commodity Classic crowd. “In fact, you can make the case that agriculture is leading the nation’s economic recovery, just as it did during the last recession.”
Of course, to hear Lucas tell it, not everyone in Washington, DC, understands agriculture. In particular, he singled out some proposals coming out of the EPA for scorn.
“EPA wants no dust generated from tillage and is re-reviewing the safety of atrazine,” said Lucas. “Also, EPA wants no spray drift of crop protection products away from their intended target source, which would mean application could only be performed in the absence of wind. Do you know how many days the wind doesn’t blow in my part of Oklahoma? In fact, if the wind doesn’t blow in Oklahoma for more than four days in a row, people there start saying it’s the end of the world. This assault on production agriculture by EPA must stop.”
In response, Lucas is hopeful to call the head of EPA to explain its policies to the Agriculture Committee. “There are three questions that the agency needs to answer,” he said. “Is EPA following the law? Is the agency making its decisions based upon sound science and data? And is EPA doing adequate cost benefit analysis when it is making these proposals?”
It will be interesting to see how this DC battle plays out over the coming months, with the specifics inevitably leading to what will or won’t be included in the 2012 Farm Bill. Luckily, the ag industry seems to have its friends on Capitol Hill.
Hopefully, that will be enough . . .
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