Governor calls EPA 'enemy of agriculture'

Gov. Dave Heineman on Monday called the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the “enemy of agriculture” and said the federal agency is the biggest regulatory issue facing Nebraska producers. “The federal government, particularly under the Obama administration, has been overly aggressive with regulation,” Heineman said during a conference call with reporters. “We all support clean air, clean water and appropriate regulations. But it is the EPA that is the enemy of agriculture.” A series of proposals and disagreements in recent years -- from proposed regulation of farm dust to considering a reduction in the amount of ethanol required to be blended into gasoline -- have strained the relationship between producers and the EPA. Farmers and ranchers argue they know how to best care for the land they rely on to survive. Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Greg Ibach, on the same conference call with the governor, summed it up. “Whether it has been the EPA’s past clandestine flights over Nebraska to spy on livestock feeding operations, or their move to try and regulate individual farmer’s properties now through Waters of the U.S., or their foolish move earlier this year to try to change the RFS (Renewable Fuels Standard), the EPA is the biggest regulation problem that Nebraska farmers and ranchers face.”...more