While ag retailers are busy serving their farmer-customers in the field, the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) is building on the momentum from February’s legislative fly-in meetings between ARA members and their elected officials in Congress.
Since then, ARA board member Mike Twining with Willard Agri-Service, a family-owned ag retailer based in Maryland, testified before the House Committee on Agriculture during its public hearing in late February. Twining pointed out to lawmakers that the ag industry is expected to produce more for a growing domestic and global population with less land, water and critical inputs.
ARA president & CEO Daren Coppock noted how hearing directly from an ag retailer such as Twining, who serves as vice chair of ARA’s public policy committee, will underscore the need for Congress and the Biden administration to remove regulatory barriers to boost our farm economies.
After sharing the growing list of factors that have led to economic uncertainty across the ag industry—higher energy costs, unreliable transportation supply chain, heavier regulatory burdens and global market disruptions—Twining proposed achievable solutions for consideration by Congress and the administration.
Farm Safety Net
Citing USDA agricultural projections through 2032, Twining stated “persistent inflation, severe weather events, supply chain disruptions and high input costs” will continue to pressure commodity prices, and net farm income and net cash income are projected to decrease.
“I see this reality every day as I work with growers who are struggling to adjust to the unprecedented increases in costs, supply chain volatility and obtaining operating capital to fund the inputs required to plant a crop,” said Twining during his testimony.
He added that by reauthorizing a multiyear farm bill that strengthens the crop insurance program, promotes voluntary conservation programs and increases ag research funding, our industry will be better positioned to deliver a safe, healthy and affordable food supply chain.
EPA Pesticide Registrations
Without access to critical crop input supplies such as pesticides, fertilizers, seed and biostimulants, farmers will be in a disadvantaged position to produce the food, fuel and fiber needed for a growing population. Recent actions by the EPA to revoke all tolerances for chlorpyrifos are of huge concern among ARA members; however, EPA’s overreaching actions do not end there.
Several efforts to remove or restrict use of essential crop protection products such as glyphosate, dicamba, atrazine and a whole class of rodenticides have been launched recently in direct opposition to the agency’s science- and risk-based regulatory approach.
Twining urged the agency to consult with ag retailers and certified crop advisers when developing any pesticide mitigation measures, especially those related to the Endangered Species Act, to avoid severe disruptions that will trickle down in the form of cost increases for Americans.
WOTUS
The ag community faces additional hurdles with the new Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. If implemented, then the EPA may regulate ditches, ephemeral drainages and low spots on farmlands and pastures—none of which meet the definition of “navigable water” in the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Twining told congressional committee members that the EPA was premature in moving forward with the new WOTUS regulations while the U.S. Supreme Court is considering Sackett v. EPA, which will decide whether the “significant nexus” test is appropriate to use when determining jurisdiction under the CWA.
To that end, ARA set up a grassroots advocacy campaign to make it easy for its members to encourage their lawmakers to reject the overreaching WOTUS rule under the Congressional Review Act. On March 9, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 227 to 198 in favor of overturning the rule. On March 29, the Senate voted 53 to 43 to repeal the rule.
Relieving Truck Supply Chain Pressure
With 70% of the nation’s freight being carried by commercial trucks and a driver shortage that is projected to worsen, Congress and the administration need to work with industry stakeholders to enact creative solutions to relieve the truck supply chain pressure. ARA written testimony submitted for the hearing includes several solutions:
- Increase weight limits for trucks on the road during busy times.
- Expand the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program to include more eligible drivers and eliminate barriers to participation.
- Ensure farm-related restricted CDL drivers can operate Class A commercial vehicles.
- Eliminate in-person seasonal renewal requirement of the farm-related restricted CDL.
- Remove the hours of service ag exemption’s planting and harvesting season provision.
Concluding his testimony, Twining expressed gratitude for his time with the legislators and confidence that improvements made to farm safety nets and the regulatory landscape will contribute to a burgeoning farm economy. Twining spoke on behalf of all ARA members when he explained the economic prosperity of ag retailers is directly tied to the farmers they serve. Only if they succeed do we succeed. More about ARA policy solutions at www.aradc.org.
