The Ag Minute

MEDIA CONTACT:
Tamara Hinton (202) 225-0184
tamara.hinton@mail.house.gov

This week during The Ag Minute, guest host Rep. Adrian Smith, discusses proposed regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and how they will negatively impact everyone who lives, works, and farms in rural America. Rep. Smith is a member of the Rural America Solutions Group and recently participated in a forum hosted by the group to examine the unprecedented, overreaching, and burdensome regulations EPA is trying to impose on farmers, ranchers, and small businesses.

Click here to listen to The Ag Minute. The transcript is below.

"America’s farmers and ranchers were our nation’s first conservationists.  Their livelihood has long depended on maintaining high quality soil, water, and even air.

"However the EPA has led a non-stop regulatory assault – attempting to regulate everything from irrigation canals to methane from cows.

"Recently, as a Member of the Rural America Solutions Group, I had the chance to hear firsthand from those affected by these job-killing regulations.

"The forum covered:

• EPA’s unnecessary and costly regulation of crop protection tools;
• its proposed zero tolerance standard for pesticide spray drift;
• attempts to stiffen the current regulatory standard on farm dust, which would make tilling a field, operating a feedlot, or driving a farm vehicle nearly impossible;
• and an unprecedented ban on a popular weed control product, which could result in a ban on its use.

"If any of these efforts are successful, it could mean the loss of thousands of agriculture related jobs.

"It is imperative we prevent the EPA from imposing standards which would cripple American agriculture and stifle economic growth in rural communities.

"Farmers and ranchers have enough headaches without having to worry about unreasonable federal regulations threatening their livelihood."

The Ag Minute is Ranking Member Lucas's weekly radio address that is released each Tuesday from the House Agriculture Committee Republicans.