After more than a year of careful study, the 35-member task force reached a number of formal conclusions. Those findings are the basis for a comprehensive internal strategy Farm Bureau will deploy in the coming year to address related regulatory issues. Smaller farmers in particular will find it difficult to meet new requirements. Chaired by Bill Sprague, president of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation and a member of the AFBF board of directors, the task force's report states that regulatory agencies are using flawed data about surface and ground water quality to expand their authority and impose new regulations. We also saw a clear need to increase farmer awareness of existing and pending regulations that impact their ability to farm.
Agriculture is good for the environment and farmers want to be part of the solution locally.
The potential exists for EPA to control more economic activity with CWA regulations than with any other environmental statute, according to the report. After tightening control over industrial and municipal sources of water pollution, EPA's focus is turning to regulations on agricultural nonpoint sources. The task force points to efforts undertaken by the EPA to greatly expand the scope of federal regulations to control farms with livestock by requiring farmers to obtain federal permits to farm and even to apply livestock manure to their fields. One can only guess at their motives, but in reality the underlying data is flawed and not statistically valid. Legal Notice American Farm Bureau Federation, Farm Bureau and the FB Logo are registered service marks of the American Farm Bureau Federation.