The Voice for Ag Retailers: How ARA Is Driving Effective Policy Advocacy
May 13, 2024 In early March, members of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) came to Washington, DC, for our Winter Board Meeting and Congressional Fly-In. In addition to members of the Board, several other ARA members and industry partners participated. During those three days, our group of 85 industry leaders had 120 meetings with members of Congress and four visits with agency officials. Fourteen House members visited ARA members in person during our dinner event Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
Included in the schedule were conversations with four important agency officials: USDA Under Secretary Robert Bonnie about climate-smart agriculture; several pesticide-related issues with USEPA Office of Pesticide Programs Director Ed Messina; and ammonia storage and tank issues with Bill Quade, Associate Administrator with the USDOT Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
These events provide valuable opportunities to directly inform Congressional offices and federal agency leaders, ask questions, and to communicate industry policy priorities established by the ARA Public Policy Committee.
What is the value of ARA’s coordinated national voice for agricultural retailers?
We saw one stark example of its importance this winter when a federal court in Arizona vacated the registration for three over-the-top (OTT) formulations of dicamba. As soon as the vacatur was announced, ARA communicated with EPA about their forthcoming cancellation order that would translate the court decision into action.
Specifically, ARA requested the order allow for use of existing stocks that were already in distribution or retail channels according to the existing label for the products. When the OTT dicamba labels were thrown out in 2020, the cancellation order at that time only allowed for use of product that was in the hands of the end user (i.e., grower). Product in retail or distribution was in no-man’s land: It could not be used, and because it didn’t have a current label, it could not be transported except to be destroyed. This time around, EPA allowed for use of existing stocks and quoted ARA’s letter multiple times in its order.
ARA’s Farm Bill priority of allowing Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) to be considered as qualified Third-party Service Providers (TSPs) under USDA NRCS rules is another good example of effective advocacy. Due to sustained communication with Agriculture Committee leaders on both sides of the Hill, this provision is in a good position to be included in the Bill. Additionally, ARA continues to advocate for several pesticide regulatory reform and certainty to be included in the Farm Bill. Unfortunately, the timing of Bill’s floor consideration and passage is up in the air, especially in the Senate.
Relationships allow vital communication at critical times, and that’s what these annual in-person meetings, as well as ARA’s continual presence in the nation’s capital, accomplish for ag retailers. If you’re a member, you’re a part of that coordinated, effective and amplified voice. If you’re not part of the voice representing ag retailers, the ARA team would love to have a conversation with you about the benefits you will unlock as an ARA member.
Subscribe Today For
