“2011 Farm Forum – EPA regulations and their effects on the agricultural sector.” This was the title chosen for Ohio Congressman John Boehner’s 8th Congressional District’s annual gathering on March 11 to discuss farm issues.
Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Jim Zehringer was charged with setting the stage for the speaker corps. Well-known as a long-term poultry and fish farmer from western Ohio, Zehringer previously served as a Mercer County Commissioner and State Representative for the 77th House District. Prior to entering the political arena, his family operation received state and national recognition for environmental management.

Jay J. Vroom, the first speaker, is president and CEO of CropLife America, the largest national trade organization representing developers, manufacturers, formulators and distributors of agricultural pesticides across the United States. Raised on an Illinois farm, he continues to have an active business interest in his family business.

Vroom detailed how EPA was using the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to mischaracterize individual spray nozzles as possible point source pollutant discharges. Such a designation could result in individual farmers having to request a permit prior to each field pest control application. Fortunately, Ohio U.S. Representatives Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) and Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) are introducing legislation to stop this ill-advised action. Colin Woodall is the vice president of government affairs for National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. (NCBA). As NCBA’s chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill, he helps develop strategies to ensure that cattle producer voices are being heard by policymakers. Several comments noted during his presentation were memorable. On the animal care front, he notified the group that only one-half of one percent of HSUS contributions go to benefit cats and dogs.

Woodall also chimed in on EPA directives. He pointed out that the official USEPA term for dust is: Coarse Particulate Matter. EPA has suggested regulatory guidelines for farm dust illustrating the bureaucracy’s total disconnect with common sense and public interests.

Washington D.C. Attorney Susan Bodine focuses her practices on environmental public policy issues, including climate change and energy legislation and regulation, environmentally-sound development of property and infrastructure, management of wastes and hazardous substances, remediation of contaminated properties, wetlands issues, water pollution control, and water resources development.

She noted that EPA is now very aggressive in going after animal feeding operations and would like to gather information on all animal feeding operations. In addition to regulation of nutrients, especially Nitrogen and Phosphorous, Bodine verified that EPA has proposed (and subsequently denied) the intent to expand regulation of dust from farms.

New Ohio EPA Director Scott J. Nally leads the cabinet-level agency that is responsible for implementing federal and state regulations to protect human health and the environment while ensuring the environmentally sound operations of business and government activities imperative to economic growth.

He comes to Ohio EPA after spending the last six years as a senior manager at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and has worked in the environmental field in the private sector for more than 15 years.

A proponent of common sense regulation, the director testified that science-based guidelines need to be implemented while farmers assist with genuine commitment to improved environmental practices. After a beef tenderloin sandwich lunch, Speaker of the House Boehner introduced American Bureau Federation President Bob Stahlman, a rice and cattle producer from Texas.
Stahlman correctly stated that American farmers feed, clothe and help fuel our nation, with crop yields alone increasing by 360 percent since 1950. He questioned the practicality of government’s role in setting policy when thousands of bureaucrats view themselves as regulatory renegades. That comment accurately summarized the perspectives of the vast majority of participants at the Farm Forum.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Roger Bender may write to him in care of this publication.