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S. HRG. 113–249 

NOMINATION OF KRYSTA L. HARDEN TO BE 

DEPUTY SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE AND 

ROBERT BONNIE TO BE UNDER SECRETARY 

OF AGRICULTURE FOR NATURAL RESOURCES 

AND ENVIRONMENT 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 

NUTRITION AND FORESTRY 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

JULY 23, 2013 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov/ 

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY 

DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan, Chairwoman 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont 

TOM HARKIN, Iowa 

MAX BAUCUS, Montana 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

MICHAEL BENNET, Colorado 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York 

JOE DONNELLY, Indiana 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania 

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi 

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky 

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas 

SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota 

CHRISTOPHER J. ADAMO, Majority Staff Director 

JONATHAN W. COPPESS, Majority Chief Counsel 

JESSICA L. WILLIAMS, Chief Clerk 

THOMAS ALLEN HAWKS, Minority Staff Director 

ANNE C. HAZLETT, Minority Chief Counsel and Senior Advisor 

(II) 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

HEARING(S): 

Nomination of Krysta L. Harden to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and 

Robert Bonnie to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources 

and Environment ................................................................................................. 1 

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 

STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS 

Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan, Chairwoman, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry ............................ 1 

Cochran, Hon. Thad, U.S. Senator from the State of Mississippi ....................... 3 

Chambliss, Hon. Saxby, U.S. Senator from the State of Georgia ........................ 3 

Bishop, Hon. Sanford, U.S. Representative in Congress from the State of 

Georgia .................................................................................................................. 4 

Witnesses 

Harden, Krysta L., of Georgia, to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture ............... 6 

Bonnie, Robert, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural 

Resources and Environment ................................................................................ 8 

APPENDIX 

PREPARED STATEMENTS: 

Bonnie, Robert .................................................................................................. 22 

Harden, Krysta L. ............................................................................................ 25 

DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD: 

Public 5 day letter, Committee questionnaire and Office of Government 

Ethics Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report 

filed by Robert Bonnie .................................................................................. 34 

Public 5 day letter, Committee questionnaire and Office of Government 

Ethics Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report 

filed by Krysta L. Harden ............................................................................ 77 

Various organizations, letters of support for Robert Bonnie ........................ 99 

Various organizations, letters of support for Krysta L. Harden ................... 104 

Bonnie, Robert: 

‘‘Endangered species mitigation banking: promoting recovery through 

habitat conservation planning under the Endangered Species Act.’’ ....... 112 

‘‘Protecting terrestrial ecosystmes and the climate through a global carbon market’’, The Royal Society ................................................................... 121 

‘‘A Market-Based Approach to Conservation of the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker on Private Lands ............................................................................... 142 

‘‘Chapter 12, Financing Private Lands’’ .......................................................... 151 

‘‘Conservation & Biodiversity Banking: A Guide to Setting up and Running Biodiversity Credit Trading Systems’’ ................................................ 160 

‘‘‘Safe Harbors’ Foes Have Ulterior Motive’’, article, The Dallas Morning 

News ............................................................................................................... 169 

‘‘Program Will Give Longleaf Pines a Fighting Chance’’. article, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ........................................................................... 170 

Page

IV 

Bonnie, Robert—Continued 

‘‘Habitat Trading for Red Cockaded Woodpeckers: Enhancing Recovery, 

Reducing Conflicts’’ ....................................................................................... 171 

‘‘Saving Forests, Earning Credits’’ .................................................................. 174 

Harden, Krysta L.: 

‘‘Grill the CEO, Krysta Harden answers your tough questions’’ .................. 175 

QUESTION AND ANSWER: 

Hon. Debbie Stabenow: 

Written questions to Robert Bonnie ................................................................ 206 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 206 

Cochran, Hon. Thad: 

Written questions to Robert Bonnie ................................................................ 208 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 240 

Bennet, Hon. Michael: 

Written questions to Robert Bonnie ................................................................ 215 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 214 

Boozman, Hon. John: 

Written questions to Robert Bonnie ................................................................ 218 

Gillibrand, Hon. Kirsten: 

Written questions to Robert Bonnie ................................................................ 223 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 221 

Grassley, Hon. Charles: 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 224 

Johanns, Hon. Mike: 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 225 

Klobuchar, Hon. Amy: 

Written questions to Robert Bonnie ................................................................ 227 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 227 

McConnell, Hon. Mitch: 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 228 

Hon. Pat Roberts: 

Written questions to Robert Bonnie ................................................................ 230 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 229 

Thune, Hon. John: 

Written questions to Robert Bonnie ................................................................ 233 

Written questions to Krysta L. Harden .......................................................... 231 

Bonnie, Robert: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 237 

Written response to questions from Hon. Thad Cochran .............................. 241 

Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet ........................... 239 

Written response to questions from Hon. John Boozman ............................. 254 

Written response to questions from Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand ....................... 238 

Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar ........................... 238 

Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts .................................. 249 

Written response to questions from Hon. John Thune .................................. 251 

Harden, Krysta L.: 

Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow ......................... 259 

Written response to questions from Hon. Thad Cochran .............................. 265 

Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet ........................... 264 

Written response to questions from Hon. Charles Grassley ......................... 277 

Written response to questions from Hon. Mike Johanns .............................. 275 

Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar ........................... 260 

Written response to questions from Hon. Mitch McConnell ......................... 277 

Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts .................................. 272 

Written response to questions from Hon. John Thune .................................. 274 

(1) 

NOMINATION OF KRYSTA L. HARDEN TO BE 

DEPUTY SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE AND 

ROBERT BONNIE TO BE UNDER SECRETARY 

OF AGRICULTURE FOR NATURAL RESOURCES 

AND ENVIRONMENT 

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 

UNITED STATES SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY, 

Washington, DC 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:36 a.m., room 

328A, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Debbie Stabenow, 

Chairwoman of the Committee, presiding. 

Present or submitting a statement: Senators Stabenow, Bennet, 

Donnelly, Cochran, Chambliss, Hoeven, Grassley, and Thune. 

STATEMENT OF HON. DEBBIE STABENOW, U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, CHAIRWOMAN, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Well, good morning. 

The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee will 

come to order and we are delighted to have this nomination hearing this morning. 

I first want again, brag about our Committee and thank our 

members. We were successful by unanimous consent of replacing 

House Farm Bill with the complete bipartisan Farm Bill on Thursday evening and sent it back to the House and asked for a conference. 

This would not have been possible without extraordinary leadership on this Committee. I always thank Senator Cochran and Senator Chambliss, who is sitting here, played a tremendous role in 

that. I want to thank you very much for your leadership in that 

effort as well. 

Senator Hoeven, who is not here at the moment, who also stayed 

on the floor Thursday night was very helpful. All the members 

were extraordinarily helpful, and I am optimistic that we are going 

to get a Farm Bill because we in the Senate worked together on 

a bipartisan basis and we are committed to getting it done and I 

think our ability to do that last week was an example of why it is 

going to get done. 

So I just want to thank all of our members on both sides of the 

aisle for continuing to keep our eye on the prize which is making 

sure that we are putting together a comprehensive five-year Farm 

2 

Bill for our farmers and ranchers and consumers and rural communities and everybody who likes to eat. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. So, we are happy to do that. 

So, let me say today the Committee is meeting to consider the 

nomination of Krysta Harden of Georgia to be the Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture and Robert 

Bonnie of Kentucky to be Under Secretary for Natural Resources 

and the Environment at the Department of Agriculture. 

We welcome and congratulate both of you on your nominations 

and we also welcome your families and certainly want to give you 

an opportunity, when you are speaking, to introduce them as well. 

These positions are critically important for America’s farmers 

and ranchers and our natural resources that serve as the foundation of our wealth as a Nation. The Deputy Secretary position at 

the Department of Agriculture is a vital role as the second-highest 

ranking official in the USDA. 

That means that our nominee will play a critical role in managing the Department as it works to enhance the safety and quality of the U.S. food supply while serving America’s farmers in rural 

communities. 

Ms. Harden, I hope that you will use your perspective that you 

have gained as a longtime public servant to improve the operations 

of the Department by assessing how the agencies are measuring 

performance and efficiency, cutting down on duplication, and reviewing the quality of customer service which I know is a continual 

focus. 

I have confidence that your experiences as Chief of Staff and as 

Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations at the USDA have 

prepared you to manage relations between the Department and 

lawmakers as well as interagency concerns as well. 

Mr. Bonnie, the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the USDA also plays a key role. As Under Secretary, 

you will be the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of 

Agriculture on policy to promote the conservation and sustainable 

use of our Nation’s natural resources on private lands and to sustain production of all the goods and services that the public demands of our National Forests. 

I trust, Mr. Bonnie, that your prior position as a Senior Policy 

Adviser for the USDA has prepared you to take on the tremendous 

task of overseeing the day-to-day operations of the U.S. Forest 

Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

Ms. Harden and Mr. Bonnie, your nominations come at a very 

important time. The staff at the Department of Agriculture has 

been and will continue to be an indispensable resource for us as we 

move forward with the Farm Bill. 

USDA provides the boots on the ground, working directly with 

our farmers and ranchers to implement vital programs that we 

have worked so hard to make more efficient in the Senate-passed 

Farm Bill. 

We write the legislation, but it is up to you to implement the 

policies and to create the rules that best serve the 16 million people whose jobs depend on American agriculture. 

3 

I know I speak for all the members of the Committee when we 

say that we take our obligation to advise and consent very seriously and we look forward to your remarks. 

Before turning to my distinguished Ranking Member, I would 

like to offer two items into the record. The first is a letter in support of Ms. Harden’s nomination by roughly 140 agriculture groups. 

[The following information can be found on page 104 in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. The second is a letter in support of Mr. 

Bonnie’s nomination signed by roughly 90 conservation and forestry groups. Those are quite the coalitions. 

[The following information can be found on page 99 in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. If there are no objections, the letters 

will be inserted into the record. 

Seeing none, I would now like to turn to Senator Cochran. 

STATEMENT OF HON. THAD COCHRAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 

Senator COCHRAN. Madam Chair, I am very pleased to join you 

in welcoming our witnesses and the nominees for offices that are 

very important in the Department of Agriculture. I think both of 

them are very well qualified by virtue of their experiences and performance of duties in the government as well as private sector organizations in the field of agriculture. 

I look forward to their testimony and to their favorable consideration by the Committee. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. 

Before turning to Congressman Bishop, who I know would like 

to introduce our first nominee, and welcome, Congressman; it is 

wonderful to have you here for the Committee, but I know that 

Senator Chambliss also wanted to say a few words. 

Senator Chambliss. 

STATEMENT OF HON. SAXBY CHAMBLISS, U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF GEORGIA 

Senator CHAMBLISS. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. It is 

a privilege for me to have a chance to introduce again to this Committee my long-time dear friend Krysta Harden. It is hard to believe that I first met Krysta in 1980 when she was a volunteer for 

then aspiring Congressmen Charles Hatcher and she gets the sole 

credit for him being elected that year. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator CHAMBLISS. She has not gotten any older but I have. She 

has been my dear friend since then and it has been a real privilege 

to watch Krysta to grow and mature into the great, great person 

she is now but also the great leader she is now. 

She has great experience both on and off the Hill in preparing 

for this position that she has been nominated to which obviously 

is the number two position at USDA. 

Krysta served in Congressmen Hatcher’s office for many years, 

starting out as a receptionist and ending up as Chief of Staff. That 

is the kind of job that she did for him. She also worked on the AgriVerDate Nov 24 2008 09:10 Sep 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\MW42035\DESKTOP\DOCS\87567.TXT MICAH
4 

culture Committee as Chief of Staff or one of the Subcommittees 

that Charles was the Chairman of. 

But probably, and of course, being in the Administration now, 

was congressional liaison and then Chief of Staff to the Secretary, 

letting her know what was going on inside USDA over the last several years. 

But, I think probably what has prepared her most for this job is 

the fact that she grew up on a farm in south Georgia. Her dad who 

is also a dear friend, Jimmy ‘‘Hardrock’’ Harden is here. He is a 

row crop farmer in south Georgia. 

Krysta knows firsthand what it is like to watch the crops be 

planted and hope there is rain and hope prices continue to rise. So, 

she is well prepared for this position and it is, indeed, a privilege 

for me to introduce her to the Committee today for the position of 

Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you so much also. 

Congressman Bishop, we would welcome any comments and 

thoughts from you as well before we turn to our nominees. 

STATEMENT OF HON. SANFORD BISHOP, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA 

Mr. BISHOP. Thank you very much. 

Good morning, Madam Chair Stabenow, Ranking Member, Senator Cochran, and members of the Committee. 

It is my distinct honor and privilege to come today joined by our 

distinguished senior Senator from Georgia and my good friend, 

Saxby Chambliss, is to support the nomination of Krysta Harden 

as the next Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of 

Agriculture. 

I have known Krysta and her husband Charles for decades and 

consider them to be dear friends. She also happens to be my constituent, hailing from the largely rural second Congressional District of Georgia, the heart of production agriculture as you have 

heard having been born and raised on one of the many peanut 

farms in our area in Mitchell County. 

Though she served many years in Washington D.C., Krysta still 

refers to herself as a Georgia farm girl. I am proud to say that she 

has never forgotten her roots and that she will bring a wealth of 

knowledge and experience wound from our rustic upbringing as 

well as her many years of federal experience to the new position 

at USDA. 

It has already been mentioned that she grew up and worked on 

the land on a farm, that she spent 16 years on Capitol Hill including a stint as Staff Director for the House Agriculture, Peanut, and 

Tobacco Subcommittee. 

She served for six years as CEO with the National Association 

of Conservation Districts, which represents the 3000 districts 

tasked with carrying out our national resource management program, and most recently, of course, during the first Obama Administration, she joined Secretary Tom Vilsack at USDA as the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations, ultimately working her 

way up and earning the promotion in 2011 by Secretary Vilsack as 

the Department’s Chief of Staff. 

5 

As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, I have had the privilege of personally working with Krysta 

on a range of challenging and sensitive issues during her tenure in 

the Administration. 

I can say that I found her to be bipartisan and no-nonsense in 

our approach to problem-solving, demonstrating our ability to listen 

and her persistence and follow-through; and they had been altogether refreshing and valuable, I think, whether working on national issues such as the re-authorization of the Farm Bill or the 

Administration’s proposed reforms for the crop insurance and direct 

payment programs or working with the Congressional Black Caucus on developing legislative framework for the farmer settlements 

or assisting that our office or other offices in helping local farmers 

overcome some of the challenges with the county FSA offices. I 

have always found her to be honest, forthright, and fair. 

I have every belief that she represents the highest standards of 

public service. So, I have every confidence that she will perform admirably as the Deputy Secretary of the USDA and I wholeheartedly support her nomination for this very, very important position. 

So, thank you, Madam Chair and members of the Committee, for 

allowing me to have these few words to second the nomination and 

to support my friend, my colleague, my constituent Krysta Harden. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Well, thank you very much, Representative Bishop. 

I think, Ms. Harden, from your perspective we should just adjourn your portion of the meeting at this point, I think. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. But we will proceed with both of you 

who have come with very impressive support. Let me officially introduce you. 

Our first nominee is Krysta Harden. Ms. Harden is currently, as 

we know, Chief of Staff at the USDA, a position that she has held 

since 2011. Prior to this, Ms. Harden served as Assistant Secretary 

for Congressional Relations at USDA in 2009 through 2011. 

From 2004 through 2009, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Conservation Districts. At NACD, 

she was actively involved with the Committee in building broader 

coalitions around the conservation title of the farm bill. 

Previously, Ms. Harden was the Senior Vice President of Gordley 

Associates from 1993 to 2004. She also served as Staff Director for 

the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Peanuts and Tobacco from 1992 to 1993. 

Ms. Harden received her BA in journalism at the University of 

Georgia, and there may be others here with you today, but I do 

want to recognize your father, Jimmy Harden, and your husband, 

former Congressman Charles Hatcher. Welcome to both of you. We 

are happy to have you. 

Our next nominee is Robert Bonnie. Mr. Bonnie is currently a 

Senior Policy Adviser at USDA, a position he has held since 2009. 

Prior to this, he worked for the Environmental Defense Fund 

where he held a number of roles from 1995 until 2008, including 

Vice President of Land Conservation and Wildlife and Managing 

Director of the Center for Conservation Incentives. 

6 

Mr. Bonnie served on the board of visitors at Duke University 

Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. He was a 

member of the board of directors for the Piedmont Environmental 

Council in Scenic America. 

Mr. Bonnie received an AB from Harvard College and an MF and 

MEM from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment. I understand, Mr. Bonnie, that your wife Julia Gomena and 

your brother Shelby Bonnie are also with you today. So, we welcome them. 

Now, there are two things that we need to do before hearing 

from you. One is to administer an oath that we have for all of our 

nominees and I would ask you to stand and raise your right hand. 

Do you swear that the testimony you are about to present is the 

truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God? 

Ms. HARDEN. I do. 

Mr. BONNIE. I do. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Secondly, do you agree that if confirmed, you will appear before any newly constituted Committee of 

Congress if asked to appear? 

Ms. HARDEN. Yes. 

Mr. BONNIE. Yes. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. 

At this point, we would like to proceed, Ms. Harden, with your 

remarks, welcome. 

TESTIMONY OF KRYSTA HARDEN, OF GEORGIA, NOMINATED 

TO BE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE 

Ms. HARDEN. Madam Chairwoman and members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to appear today before you 

as President Obama’s nominee to serve as Deputy Secretary of the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

I apologize, every time I read that, it’s just hard to believe. 

I want to begin by expressing my appreciation to the President 

for nominating me and to Secretary Vilsack for his great leadership 

at USDA. 

I want to thank you, Senator Chambliss, for your kind words 

today. Your friendship and support have meant so much to me for 

many years and a thank you to Congressman Bishop for coming 

over to the Senate side and spending your time for all those kind 

words. Thank you too, sir. 

With me today is my husband of 17 years, Charles Hatcher. 

There is so much I would like to say about him, but for the sake 

of time, I will just say that he is my biggest champion, my strongest supporter and best friend. Thank you, Charles, for all you have 

done to make this day possible for me. 

I would also want to thank my wonderful parents, Jamie and 

Jimmy Harden. My daddy is here representing the family, as you 

have heard. It takes a lot to get him off the farm, especially this 

time of year. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. HARDEN. So, I would like to say thank you to him for being 

here. 

7 

I want to send a big hello and a hug to my mama Jamie and my 

sister back home in Georgia. I am truly blessed with a loving and 

supportive family. 

Finally, I want to recognize my friends and colleagues from over 

the years. Many are here today or watching via the Internet. Your 

guidance, your friendship, and help are very much appreciated. 

I am a product of rural America. Even during my time in Washington, I had considered Georgia home. I grew up in Camilla, Georgia on my parents farm. My daddy grew up raising tobacco, fruits, 

and vegetables; and my mommy came from a traditional row crop 

farm where her family also had a cow/calf operation. 

Their backgrounds show the incredible diversity of American agriculture. My home also reminds me of rural America and the need 

for a thriving rural community. When I graduated from college I 

did not see opportunity in rural Georgia. 

Today, too many young people face that same challenge. They 

feel deeply connected to rural America but they are not sure how 

to stay. We owe them strong rural communities. 

I have done my best to contribute to that goal over the years 

from my time as a House staffer, to working with soybean producers at Gordley Associates, to serving as CEO of NACD and finally serving on the leadership team at USDA. 

I am proud of what we have accomplished during my time at the 

Agriculture Department. We quickly implemented the 2008 Farm 

Bill which has allowed us to deliver record results. This includes 

record farm loans, record investment in small towns, record conservation efforts and record agriculture trade. 

We have supported agriculture research, expanded local and regional markets and improved the safety of our food supply. In partnership with this Committee, we also achieved passage of the 

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and we have provided dependable nutrition assistance to millions of American families. 

Today, our work is not finished. If confirmed, I will continue our 

efforts to strengthen the rural economy in several key areas. 

First, we can continue to support our farmers and ranchers to 

grow existing markets and create new ones. If confirmed, I would 

help open more doors around the world for quality U.S. products. 

We can expand local and regional markets. 

If confirmed, I want to grow the numbers of farmers markets and 

regional food hubs around the country. This creates new income opportunities and it helps to ensure that there is a place for everyone 

in agriculture. We need new farmers and they are coming from all 

walks of life, young people, immigrants, returning veterans, and 

women more than ever are starting all sizes of operations. We can 

give them the tools to get started and to keep growing. 

We are on the cutting-edge of new conservation opportunities 

today. USDA can help protect our natural resources and tap into 

economic opportunity through increased outdoor activities, and we 

can grow the outdoor-based economy. 

Many of us here today have worked hard over the years to harness the potential of home-grown products. I share Secretary 

Vilsack’s belief that rural America can do even more, creating new 

jobs in the process. 

8 

Throughout all of this work, we must continue to foster a new 

era of civil rights at USDA. With the support of this Committee, 

we have taken steps to correct USDA’s past history of discrimination and we can ensure history does not repeat itself. 

To carry out much of our work, USDA relies on the Farm Bill. 

We remain committed to helping Congress pass a comprehensive 

agricultural reform food and jobs act that builds on the strong bipartisan spirit shown in the U.S. Senate. If confirmed, I look forward to leading our effort to implement this legislation swiftly once 

it is passed. 

Finally, in a time of tight budgets, if confirmed, I will support 

USDA’s proactive efforts that have already saved more than $828 

million in recent years. 

Madam Chairwoman and members of the Committee, thank you 

for this opportunity to appear before you today. I come from a 

small town with parents who are still on the farm. But I know that 

Camilla, Georgia is just one of the thousands of wonderful small 

towns in every corner of the Nation. They are the backbone of our 

country and the heart of our values. They deserve our best. 

If confirmed, I look forward to working with you, President 

Obama and Secretary Vilsack to deliver results for rural America 

and create opportunity for generations to come. 

Thank you, and I look forward to answering any questions you 

might have. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Harden can be found on page 25 

in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Bonnie, welcome. 

TESTIMONY OF ROBERT BONNIE, OF VIRGINIA, NOMINATED 

TO BE UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR NATURAL 

RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 

Mr. BONNIE. Thank you. Madam Chairwoman and members of 

the Committee, I want to thank you for the opportunity to appear 

before you today and for your consideration of my nomination as 

Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at USDA. 

I want to thank President Obama for nominating me and Secretary Vilsack for his confidence in me. If confirmed, I look forward 

to working with Secretary Vilsack to build upon the Administration’s commitment to rural America through the conservation of 

our working lands, and our National Forests. 

I want to start by thanking my wife Julie, who is here today, and 

my daughter Lilly, both of whom have seen a little less of me as 

a result of my government service. If confirmed, I suspect that will 

not change a whole lot and I appreciate their love and patience. 

Also, I want to recognize my mother, my father, and my brother 

Shelby who is here today as well. They have encouraged my interest in the outdoors. 

My commitment to conservation began at an early age. I grew up 

on a farm in Kentucky and, as a kid, spent a lot of time outside 

fishing, hunting, and helping out around the farm. 

My family has also owned and managed forest land in South 

Carolina for over a century. As a forester, I worked directly on 

managing these lands for timber, for wildlife, and for recreation. 

9 

I understand from personal experience the challenges of maintaining family-owned farms and forests while being good stewards. 

Our working lands and our National Forests provide significant 

benefits to the American people, including food and fiber, clean 

water, wildlife habitat, and recreation. 

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in particular 

plays a key role in the voluntary conservation of working lands by 

providing financial and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, 

and forest owners to conserve soil and water, to improve rangeland 

and to protect habitat for hunting and fishing. 

In particular, NRCS makes it possible for landowners to enhance 

the productivity of their operations while conserving natural resources. In a budgetary environment where resources are limited, 

focusing NRCS resources on important conservation challenges and 

leveraging additional capacity from partnerships with farm, conservation, and other stakeholders will remain important. 

Continued innovation through efforts such as working lands for 

wildlife that combine financial and technical assistance with regulatory assurances is also important. 

Through authorization of a comprehensive food farm and jobs bill 

is central to USDA’s work on conservation. This Committee and the 

U.S. Senate have passed strong, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize farm programs; and if confirmed, I will work with Secretary 

Vilsack to highlight the importance of passing long-term legislation; and when such legislation passes, I will work with NRCS and 

the Forest Service to implement the legislation in a timely way. 

America’s forests face significant threats including catastrophic 

wildfire and pine bark beetles on National Forests, and the loss of 

our private working lands to development. 

On our National Forests, we must work in collaboration with 

communities, with forest industry, and with conservation groups to 

increase the pace and scale of restoration and management. 

If confirmed, I will work with the Secretary and with Forest 

Service Chief Tidwell, to treat more acres on National Forests, to 

produce more timber and biomass, and to improve the ecological 

health of our forests. 

Catastrophic wildfire is an enormous challenge for the Forest 

Service and its federal and state partner agencies. Since the 1970s, 

average acreages burned have more than doubled to over 7 million 

acres a year. Fire seasons are now 60 to 80 days longer. A warming 

climate, increased fuel loads, and housing construction in the 

wildland urban interface have increased threats to people, property, rangeland, and forests. 

The President and the Secretary have spoken about the fiscal 

challenges related to wildfire. The Forest Service now spends about 

40 percent of its budget on fire, forcing the agency to make difficult 

decisions including curtailing funds for management activities that 

might otherwise reduce threats from fire. If confirmed, I look forward to working with the President, the Secretary, and all of you 

to address this challenge. 

In our working forests, we must ensure landowners have the economic incentives to conserve and maintain lands to the long term. 

Here NRCS and the Forest Service can work together to ensure 

10 

land owners have the incentives and the markets to keep forests 

as forests. 

Outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing and many 

other activities, is also important to the economies of rural communities. If confirmed, I will work with NRCS, the Forest Service, and 

other agencies across the federal government to promote outdoor 

recreation on our public and private lands. 

Madam Chairwoman and members of the Committee, in closing, 

I want to again thank you for the opportunity to appear before you 

today. Conservation of our natural resources is closely linked to the 

prosperity and well-being of rural and urban Americans alike. If 

confirmed, I look forward to working with President Obama, with 

Secretary Vilsack to contribute to the conservation of our working 

lands and forests. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Bonnie can be found on page 22 

in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. 

Senator THUNE. Madam chairwoman, will we have the opportunity to submit questions for the record if we cannot do it today? 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Absolutely. We are happy to accept both 

opening statements and questions for the record. Thank you. 

First, let me just ask both of you. You have been with the Department over the last four years. There have been a lot of challenges, a lot of accomplishments. I wondered if you each might 

speak to one or two examples in your experience that demonstrates 

both the challenges you have faced and the role that you have 

played in addressing them as you look to your new roles. 

Ms. Harden. 

Ms. HARDEN. That is a good question. I think the first thing that 

comes to my mind, Madam Chairwoman, is managing it with uncertainty on budgets. I think of the four years that I have been at 

USDA, three of those years we have not had a budget, not knowing 

if we are going to have a continuing resolution, trying to keep the 

workforce focused across the country, across the world. Our folks 

do not always understand how Washington works or sometimes do 

not. So, trying to manage through that and making sure that we 

continue to provide the quality service that we are known for. 

We have the greatest employees I believe in any institution at 

USDA. They want to serve. Our stakeholders, they want to do the 

right thing, but I think that would probably, in preparing for this 

job, would give me the understanding of what is needed to keep 

folks focused and doing that kind of work even with uncertainty. 

I think the other thing that comes to mind is being involved in 

the implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill, we walked in needing 

to get that done quickly. Folks were waiting. Our stakeholders 

needed to have results from the department. So being prepared 

hopefully to implement the 2012 will be the two issues that come 

to mind. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you. 

Mr. Bonnie. 

Mr. BONNIE. Senator, I think one of the issues I would mention 

is our work on the drought last summer. I worked with the Secretary, NRCS, FSA and even the Forest Service to work to provide 

11 

some flexibility for landowners that we are dealing with a very difficult drought situation. 

On the NRCS side, we targeted some Farm Bill dollars to help 

with drought mitigation. On the CRP side, it was about making 

sure that we provide some flexibility in the program to allow for 

some emergency haying and grazing and to move quickly in a way 

that we could do that would pass legal scrutiny as well. We worked 

quickly to do that. 

We had a tough fire season as well last summer and again this 

summer and so we worked with the Forest Service to make sure 

we have the resources, whether it is air tankers or otherwise. 

Those are two areas where, I think, we have had to a little bit 

of thinking on the fly and work within the resources we have but 

recognize that the stakes are big for our stakeholders, farmers, 

ranchers, and forest landowners and for the public that relies on 

the food and fiber that they and the National Forests produce. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Just a little bit more, talking about 

thinking on the fly or being creative, we all know we are in very 

challenging times as it relates to resources. Our Farm Bill saves 

money in the ways of streamlining that we hope will make it actually easier to implement and better for folks on the ground, farmers 

and ranchers and so on. But, it is going to involve a lot of creative 

thinking as we go forward as we look at how we leverage funding 

and so on. 

So, I wonder if each of you might just speak of little bit more 

about that as we are looking at tight resources, leveraging funds, 

being creative, anything along that line that you would want to 

talk about. 

Ms. HARDEN. I will first highlight a couple of things. The first 

that comes to mind, as I mentioned in my opening statement, 

about the $828 million that we proactively have been able to avoid 

spending at USDA, and that is really by being creative. 

It is a blueprint for stronger services, what we have called this 

initiative and looking at ways to consolidate contracting, look at 

the way we manage our procurements of buildings and facilities, 

looking how to modernize our workforce, using all the tools that we 

have available proactively thinking about what is ahead. So, I 

think those kinds of things we have to continue. 

I learned a lot about working in partnerships when I was NACD, 

working with states, federal, local districts and building on those 

partnerships; sharing the workload, working together, making sure 

you are not duplicating. 

Those are the two examples that I would have. 

Mr. BONNIE. I will just add to that. I think clearly we are all operating in a difficult fiscal environment. In the case of the Farm 

Bill, it means leveraging our resources through partnerships, the 

kind of leverage that I think you all were thinking about in putting 

together regional conservation partnership initiative in the Farm 

Bill. That is exactly the approach we need to take. 

We need to bring partners to the table, leverage our resources. 

I think it is also important to think about priority setting. We are 

going to have to use our resources in a way that generates the 

most benefit for the public and obviously generates important benefits for natural resources as well. 

12 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Let me just in closing my time, really 

commend both of you and the Secretary and the Department because when you look at percentage-wise across in the Federal Government, we have seen more cuts I think in agriculture than just 

about any other area. 

You have had to manage a tremendous amount of cuts and rearranging things; and when I look at agricultural research, I am very 

concerned that has been the area hit harder than any other area 

of research in the federal government around food safety and pests 

and disease and so on. 

I am hopeful that while we will continue to focus on structuring 

dollars, that agriculture will be treated fairly in the context of the 

overall budget discussion. That is our job as well. 

Senator Cochran. 

Senator COCHRAN. Madam Chair, I am pleased to join you in 

welcoming our distinguished witnesses this morning and congratulating them on their nomination. We look forward to working with 

you in trying to be sure that we do the things that we need to do 

to help promote American agricultural interests and create an environment where we are working together, the public sector and private enterprise can help assure the continued viability and profitability of American farms. 

We know that you both have personal experiences that you will 

be able to draw on to help deal with the challenges that these offices have. 

First of all, I want to ask Ms. Harden. I know that you realize 

I have got to ask about catfish inspection. So, I might as well just 

go on and get that out of the way. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator COCHRAN. What are your thoughts about how we can implement in a responsible way a catfish or aquaculture program 

guaranteeing the wholesomeness and the fitness for food of these 

fish throughout the United States? 

Ms. HARDEN. Senator Cochran I would have been disappointed if 

you did not ask me. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. HARDEN. It is a complex issue as you know very well and I 

would say to you, if I am confirmed by the Senate, that I will work 

with you for a path forward this year on this issue. I know you 

have waited a long time and I will work with you on this, sir, if 

I am confirmed. 

Senator COCHRAN. Mr. Bonnie, do you have any thoughts about 

that? 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. BONNIE. I think I will stay away from this one. 

Senator COCHRAN. Well, you have some important responsibilities too. I think in our State somebody was surprised to find out 

that forestry and forest products were the number one commodity 

for production of income for landowners and those involved in the 

industries. 

What are your thoughts about carrying out the provisions of the 

Farm Bill that provide programs under the jurisdiction of the National Resources Conservation Service and how you can assist 

13 

farmers in dealing with challenges that they face in the marketplace today? 

Mr. BONNIE. I think on the forestry side, if you look at private 

forest lands across the United States, we are losing, slowly losing 

our private working lands and they provided incredible benefits to 

the public. 

NRCS has made some really important strides in working with 

landowners on everything from timber stand improvements to reforestation. I think it is going to be critical in places like Mississippi where forests not only provide places where people hunt 

and fish and important natural resource benefits to the communities there but it also is critical to the economic infrastructure. 

So, working with farmers and forest landowners to keep forest 

viable to make sure it remains an important economic resource 

that they can grow timber and produce all those benefits but also 

do it economically viably I think is critically important. 

Likewise, on the agricultural side, the work that NRCS does to 

not only encourage good stewardship but do it in a way that enhances the productive capacity of the land is going to be critically 

important. 

I think that is an area where NRCS is a bit of an unsung hero 

frankly in conservation and there is a lot more work to do there; 

and if confirmed, I look forward to doing it. 

Senator COCHRAN. Thank you. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. I also want to 

thank Senator Cochran. When I was in Mississippi speaking to the 

Delta Council, he made sure we had catfish. It was good. 

Senator Bennet, the Chair of our Conservation Subcommittee. 

Senator BENNET. Thank you. I would like to thank Senator Cochran for his catfish question. We are not producers of catfish in Colorado but I am married to a woman from the Mississippi Delta and 

rural Arkansas so we are consumers of catfish in Colorado and look 

forward to working with you and following your work on this. 

Ms. Harden, congratulations to both of you and thank you for 

your service and you’re incredibly well qualified for these jobs and 

I look forward to working with you. 

I wanted to ask Ms. Harden first a question about exports. You 

alluded to this in your testimony. We often talk in this Committee 

about the safe, and affordable and abundant food supply that we 

enjoy as Americans. That is all true. That is certainly true. 

But, the rest of the world is also paying attention to what we are 

doing here and more consumers from overseas are opening their 

wallets to our production here. 

My office has held eight sessions around the State, eight export 

workshops, an initiative we are calling Beyond Colorado, aimed at 

helping farmers, ranchers, and small businesses export their products and I can tell you there is tremendous interest among our producers about this worldwide market. 

So, with exports representing one of the greatest opportunities to 

create new wealth in agriculture, what more can the USDA do to 

help facilitate more business opportunities for our farmers and 

ranchers around the world? 

Ms. HARDEN. Thank you, sir, I could not agree with you more. 

14 

As I did mention in my testimony, that is one area I hope to really focus on in making sure that we do open more of those doors and 

more of those markets. 

The trade agreements that we have with South Korea, Panama 

and Colombia immediately open markets that we have not had access to. So, that is a start obviously. TPP and discussions in the 

EU are underway so we are hoping that those will conclude. 

We have been working on non-tariff barriers at USDA to get our 

products into new markets. It has been a priority for USDA even 

during tough budget times to make sure that we are leading trade 

missions with U.S. companies and producers and state departments of agriculture. We had a trade mission to Turkey just this 

summer. There is one scheduled in the fall with South Africa. 

So, we very much agree with you, sir, and I personally pledge to 

you that I will work in this area if I am confirmed by the Senate. 

Senator BENNET. I look forward to working with you on that. I 

think this is just vital for job creation in rural Colorado and rural 

America. So, thank you. 

Mr. Bonnie, I know that you are well aware of the issues that 

we are facing in Colorado with our forests both in terms of the 

wildfires and beetle infestation that we’ve had. It has been a very, 

very difficult time for us. 

We’ve noticed that the Forest Service’s 2012 report on restoration 

and job creation on our National Forests called for large landscapelevel environmental analyses extensively to accelerate restoration 

over a large area without having to do countless studies. 

I understand the Black Hills National Forest in my colleague 

Senator Thune’s State of South Dakota recently undertook such an 

analysis covering 250,000 acres. 

So, my question is whether the Forest Service plans to do any 

additional landscape-level analysis in other states; and if so, I 

would gladly volunteer Colorado as a place where you can do your 

next one. 

Mr. BONNIE. Well, I think these types of approaches are going to 

be critically important. We have got the quarter of a million acres 

in the Black Hills National Forest. We have got one in the Four 

Forest Restoration Initiative in Arizona which is a million acres. 

We are trying to do this to both provide the landscape-scale work 

we need to do to be able to confront this problem of both bark beetles and catastrophic fire but at the same time do a large enough 

project so that the forest industry, has certainty that they can invest in the mills and the infrastructure they need to help carry out 

these efforts. 

We are going to try to do more of this. The Chief is interested 

in doing more of it and there is an enormous need, as you know 

better than anyone, in Colorado particularly on the front range 

where we have challenges related to fuel buildup intermixed with 

communities that are right in the wildland-urban interface. 

So, this is just the type of approach that we are interested in 

that we want to do more of and we would love to work with you 

to take it forward. 

Senator BENNET. We will take you up on that. 

15 

Madam Chair, I know that you know this. This beetle kill in Colorado is a wasting asset. If we do not figure out how to use it and 

get it milled, it is not going to be there anymore. 

I mentioned to you, Mr. Bonnie, when we were together. I recently had a chance to visit a small mill named Colorado Timber 

Resources who are making two by fours that they are shipping to 

Louisiana. Their view was that they could triple their production 

if we could figure out how to get them for this material. 

So, I look forward to working with you. Thank you. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. 

Senator Chambliss. 

Senator CHAMBLISS. Thanks very much, Madam Chair. 

Krysta, you alluded to this in your opening statement and obviously I know what your answer is but just for the record, as you 

know, we are in the process of trying to complete a Farm Bill this 

year. 

It is imperative that we get that done, and thanks to the leadership of our Chairman and Senator Cochran hopefully we are headed that way. 

But, we had some implementations issues with both of the last 

two Farm Bills. Some of it was relative to new programs that were 

created that you are very familiar with. I do not think we got anything new and different in this program but we certainly have a 

lot less money to operate with than we have ever had. 

I simply would like a commitment from you that you are going 

to work as hard as you can to make sure that once this bill does 

get signed into law that the Department of Agriculture is going to 

implement the new Farm Bill as quickly as possible to give our 

producers some certainty and some definitive answers to the many 

issues that they are going to have in that Farm Bill. 

Ms. HARDEN. Senator Chambliss, we are ready. You all send us 

a Farm Bill, we will get it done in a timely and orderly manner 

and I hope to be leading that effort if I am confirmed by the Senate. 

Senator CHAMBLISS. Mr. Bonnie, as you know, palmar amaranth, 

which is commonly known as pigweed, has developed a resistance 

to glyphosphate which is a widely used herbicide. NRCS has a pilot 

program that was developed through EQIP that helps cotton farmers control this resistant pigweed. 

I would like to note that the control measures were developed by 

Stanley Culpepper, as you know, at Tifton Campus at the University of Georgia. 

Can you give me an update on that program? There have got to 

be other issues out there too relative to resistance to our herbicides. What has NRCS got on the table relative to how we are 

going to combat these resistant weeds? 

Mr. BONNIE. Yeah, this is a challenge across the country. In the 

case of the work in South Georgia, I believe NRCS has put about 

$1 million into this program over the fiscal year 2010 through 2012 

and it is seeing some real results. 

I think we are seeing some benefits in that pilot project and hope 

that we can take the lessons from that and use a program like 

16 

EQIP or other Farm Bill programs to spread the gospel, as it were, 

both through technical assistance and through financial assistance. 

I would think more broadly that this is a perfect example of 

where NRCS programs can both work on critical natural resource 

conservation challenges and improve the productive capacity of our 

farmers and ranchers to produce food and fiber. 

This is an area that I think is a growing problem and we are 

going to need to tackle it more aggressively as we move forward. 

Senator CHAMBLISS. One other program that has been really beneficial to Georgia forestry farmers is the Longleaf Pine program. It 

is now making a huge difference in many areas whether it is a erosion or whether it is the long-term economic benefit to our farmers. 

I know you are very familiar with it and I hope you will continue 

to pay close attention to that program and monitor it as we go 

along in this next Farm Bill. 

Mr. BONNIE. I will indeed. As most people who know me, I have 

a soft spot for Longleaf Pine and it is important. NRCS is doing 

great work there and that will continue. 

Senator CHAMBLISS. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you. Now to the Chair of our 

Subcommittee on Commodities and Markets, Senator Donnelly. 

Senator DONNELLY. Thank you, Madam Chair, and congratulations Ms. Harden and Mr. Bonnie. You know, when they called me 

Senator, I could not believe it either. So, it has been a great honor. 

Ms. Harden, just a couple of things. In regards to product that 

is out there, it is called Enlist, and it is something that we talked 

about a little bit. This has been under review for four years now. 

I said to somebody, you know, I have some kids; and I was fortunate that they were able to graduate college within four years; but 

they did that in a quicker time than they have been able to complete the review of this. 

I was wondering if you have any idea when USDA plans to respond to the latest petition for deregulation. 

Ms. HARDEN. I believe I am familiar with what you are talking 

about. 

Senator DONNELLY. Right. 

Ms. HARDEN. It is in our General Counsel’s Office, and we will 

be able to provide a response late this summer. 

Senator DONNELLY. Thank you very much. 

Then this is just a technical issue that we have a place to call. 

We had a group of farmers from Indiana who came out to speak 

to folks at USDA on this and kind of got bounced around all week 

and we would just like to know that we can give you a call and 

get people squared away when they come into town. 

Ms. HARDEN. Most definitely, sir. I have prided myself my entire 

career and especially my years at USDA at being accessible and responsible to the people that I work for, and I believe that is the 

taxpayer, and so I assure you, sir, I will be available. 

Senator DONNELLY. Thank you very, very much. 

Mr. Bonnie, thank you again for coming by the office, both of 

you. In Indiana, we actually lead the Nation right now in the highest percentage of acres using cover crop. 

When it is done right, it increases yields, improves drought resistance, reduces nutrient runoffs that affect in our State almost 

17 

what happens through a huge portion of the country when it goes 

down the Ohio River and goes into other areas. 

If it is not done right, though, there can be a lot of negative consequences and that is the pullback that we get from a lot of farmers back home. 

So, what was mentioned before by some of the other colleagues 

here is about technical assistance and that seems to be the key to 

getting it done right. 

I was wondering how you plan to deliver that kind of technical 

assistance in a better, more effective way that we can reach out to 

more because it seems every dollar spent on this provides cleaner 

rivers, reduced runoff and better land stewardship. 

Mr. BONNIE. You are exactly right. I think technical assistance 

is an incredibly valuable role of NRCS and I think one of our goals 

at NRCS is to get our folks out behind desks and back out into the 

field where they can interact directly with farmers. 

We have got a conservation streamlining delivery initiative to do 

that. I think that is going to be absolutely critical figuring out ways 

that we can use new types of technology to interact with farmers 

to give them ready information on this. 

Just as you say, cover crops are incredibly important but they 

have to be done right. We need to be able to facilitate that by providing information and ready access to information for farmers and 

ranchers. I think that will continue to be a real priority of NRCS 

as we move forward. 

Senator DONNELLY. I also wanted to ask you about our National 

Forests in Indiana. A number of Hoosiers are worried about potential reductions in the Forest Service timber harvest goals, and it 

seems to be that this could be a win-win situation that we want 

to manage these forests right but my colleague Mr. Bennet was 

just talking about the tremendous fire problems we have. 

He mentioned 40 percent of the budget is on that now. It is the 

kind of thing that I have been looking closely at personally. How 

do we reduce the fuel load that is in these forests? To just not manage them is to seem to make the decision to cause things to occur 

there. 

So effective proper management, I think, is the best way to protect our forests in the long run as well. I would like to get your 

views on that. 

Mr. BONNIE. I could not agree more. We have got 60 to 

80,000,000 acres across 193 million acres system that are in need 

of some form of restoration treatment, whether that be low intensity prescribed fire or the type of mechanical treatment where we 

are going in and thinning forests, making them more resilient to 

fire. 

There is a real opportunity here to improve not only ecological 

health of forests by doing stewardship the right way and treatments the right way but also to provide jobs and opportunity to 

local communities. 

Of course, it is a balance but the National Forests are a multiple 

use system. We need to balance timber production with recreation 

and ecological health of forests but there is a real opportunity here. 

We need to do more work and the way over the long term to keep 

the fire numbers from swallowing the Forest Service budget enVerDate Nov 24 2008 09:10 Sep 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\MW42035\DESKTOP\DOCS\87567.TXT MICAH
18 

tirely is to do the work on the front-end that will reduce the severity of fires over the long term. 

Senator DONNELLY. Well, congratulations to both of you. We look 

forward to working with you, and thank you so much for your leadership. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. 

Senator Hoeven, and before you give your questions, you were 

not here earlier when I said how proud I was of the team effort 

last week in order to move things forward to go back from the Senate Farm Bill returning to the House but I just want to say once 

again thank you for the final hours joining me on the floor and 

being a part of a very important effort and I really appreciate your 

leadership. 

Senator HOEVEN. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I appreciate it 

and really appreciate your leadership on working so hard to get a 

new Farm Bill which we very much need. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Yes. 

Senator HOEVEN. Again, welcome to both of you and thank you 

to both of you for coming by my office and sitting down and visiting 

on some of these important issues for our producers, for our farmers and ranchers. I really appreciate that. 

I just want to start out and talk for a minute about the regulatory burden that our farmers and ranchers face. It is something 

that we talked about, and it is not unique just to agriculture. I am 

hearing this across every industry. 

We understand there is a proper role for regulation. I mean, it 

is to protect the environment. We want to make sure there are not 

abuses going on there. 

But at the same time, it should not be so burdensome and complex that people do not know how to comply and spend all their 

time trying to figure out and end up not just being able to farm 

or ranch in the proper fashion they normally do. 

Instead of making sure that you prevent the exception, we are 

forcing the rule kind of on everybody in a way that really is burdensome, difficult, and complicated. 

I tried to give you a couple of examples when we met and I 

would just like your response, and I will start with Ms. Harden on 

a couple of these examples and you can sure expand it to something else. 

For example, in the area of NRCS maps. North Dakota is a very 

pothole region of the country. Farmers and ranchers need to understand how to manage their farm or ranch and maintain the wetlands in a reasonable manner. 

For example, even in the maps, the NRCS maps from 1990 to 

1996, some of the maps were approved, some were not. Farmers 

still do not know whether they can rely on those maps. 

How do you propose, I mean, can we go back and actually look 

at those maps and get the farmers squared away on that specific 

issue? 

Mr. Bonnie, you can start with this one if you’d like, but I am 

just using that as an example. I would use the special measures 

on prevented plant, the one in four rule except then you have to 

define what is a normal weather year which nobody can define. 

19 

How do you cut through this stuff and get our farmers and 

ranchers some certainty that works for them? I would love both of 

you to respond. Use these specifics or others. 

Mr. BONNIE. I am happy to start on the issues related to wetlands and the prairie pothole region. 

We really have two challenges. One is there has been a significant backlog of landowners who have been trying to get wetlands 

certifications over the last several years. NRCS has worked to put 

more staff, more contractors there to reduce that backlog by 40 percent. There is still work to be done there and I think that is an 

area, if confirmed, I will continue to work on. 

The second piece has to do with, I think, the issue you raised 

about maps and data. Are we using the best data? This is another 

area that NRCS is focused on, continued to do work on, and we will 

need to do work on going forward to make sure we are using the 

best data and that farmers and ranchers can rely on that and that 

we do it in a transparent way. 

That is an area that we will continue to work on and, if confirmed, I am happy to focus on it. 

Ms. HARDEN. Senator, I will just talk to you in a general sense. 

Obviously, common sense gets lost sometimes, and I think that is 

what is needed, practical approaches. Things that sound very good 

on paper, sound very good in an office here in Washington, just 

does not make good sense on the ground. 

I do not have to go very far to get an earful from my own daddy, 

sitting in the corner over here, a farmer himself. He says, ‘‘Why in 

the heck are you all doing this this way?’’ 

I understand that. I cannot tell you I can fix everything because 

that would not be honest but I can tell you I am aware, I understand, I agree with you and that, if confirmed by the Senate, as 

well as Deputy, I will do what I can in that role to make sure that 

we do have practical approaches, that common sense applies, and 

just use my personal experience in recognizing that farmers want 

to do what is right. I believe that, if given the opportunity to, farmers and ranchers. 

Senator HOEVEN. What I would propose and I think it would be 

helpful is if we could get you to come out to North Dakota, look 

at some of the wetlands areas, talk to some of the farmers. 

On the grasslands, come out and see the grasslands, talk to the 

ranchers so that when you work on grazing plans and allotments, 

you have seen it and you have heard from them directly. 

I think you hear from a lot of different folks back here but there 

is nothing better than seeing and then hearing from the people on 

the ground that are doing it every day. I would ask that you both 

commit to do that. 

Ms. HARDEN. Yes, sir, you have got our commitment. 

Mr. BONNIE. Absolutely. 

Senator HOEVEN. Thank you very much. I do look forward to 

working with both of you. 

Chairwoman STABENOW. Thank you very much. 

At this point we have completed our questions so we want to 

thank you for being here today and I think it is very clear that we 

are impressed with both of you and I would just speak for myself, 

looking enthusiastically toward supporting your moving forward in 

20 

this process. We will not be voting today on your nominations, but 

I will be working with Senator Cochran to find the time as soon 

as possible for a business meeting so that we can actually vote out 

your nominations. 

We look forward to working with both of you. We have a lot of 

work to do, now it is on us to get a Farm Bill done and then it 

will move to you in implementing that in the quickest, most efficient way for our farmers and ranchers. I know this will be a top 

priority for both of you. 

So, congratulations again on your nominations. 

The meeting is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

JULY 23, 2013 

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