A unanimous Supreme Court ruling was handed down yesterday. The law of the land says landowners may challenge the federal government and the Army Corps of Engineers over improper regulations designed to protect water. Landowners have attempted many times to challenge Corps rulings known as jurisdictional determinations, but the government successfully argued that those determinations were not “final agency actions” …
New Bill Would Address On-Farm Fuel Storage
Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has introduced legislation that would modify EPA regulations regarding on-farm fuel storage. The bill, known as the Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship (FUELS) Act, is co-sponsored by Committee Chairman Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK). “I am proud to introduce the Senate-version of the FUELS Act, which would …
BASF’s Varisto Herbicide Receives Registration
The EPA has given the go-ahead to BASF‘s Varisto herbicide. The product may be used on clover grown for seed, dry beans, dry peas, English peas, lima beans (succulent), snap beans and soybeans. The herbicide offers a wide spectrum of broadleaf and grass weed control. “Varisto herbicide offers multiple sites of action for excellent weed control and resistance management in …
FB Members Testify on EPA Concerns
Earlier this week, three Farm Bureau members testified before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry regarding the involvement of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the ongoing Chesapeake Bay cleanup. Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Richard Ebert, former Ohio Farm Bureau President Terry McClure, and Florida Farm Bureau member Kate English, all testified before the subcommittee that they believe …
Senators Pleased EPA IG to Investigate Anti-Ag Billboards
Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) are pleased that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking action regarding a taxpayer funded, anti-farmer campaign in Washington state. The chairmen of the Senate agriculture and environment committees sent a letter to EPA’s inspector general earlier this month requesting an audit and investigation of an EPA grant to the Northwest Indian Fisheries …
Washington State Billboard Causing Uproar
The chairmen of two Senate committees are calling for an investigation into billboards in Washington state that blame agriculture for polluting waterways because they apparently were funded by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), chairman of the Agriculture Committee are requesting an …
EPA Proposes Dicamba Registration for GE Crops
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially proposed the registration of dicamba to control weeds in cotton and soybean genetically engineered (GE) to tolerate the herbicide. The proposal outlines a Herbicide Resistance Management Plan which includes monitoring and reporting any suspected resistance, grower education and remediation. Additionally, EPA is proposing to limit the registration to 5 years, which would further …
EPA Opens Comment Period Regarding Dicamba
The EPA has opened a 30 day comment period to the public covering the topic of dicamba herbicide use with Bollgard II ExtendFlex cotton and Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans. This step is an important move forward for growers hoping to gain access to dicamba weed-management tools. A limited commercial introduction of Bollgard II XtendFlex Cotton took place in 2015 …
Bayer Requests EPA Hearing on Pesticide
Bayer is taking its disagreement with the Environmental Protection Agency over registrations for the pesticide flubendiamide, marketed as Belt® in the United States, to the administrative level. This week, the company formally requested a hearing before EPA’s Administrative Law Judge to argue their case. Bayer has already rejected a request by EPA to voluntarily withdraw registration for flubendiamide-containing products, which …
Supreme Court Declines Chesapeake Bay Review
There will be no Supreme Court review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s total maximum daily load (TMDL) restrictions in the Chesapeake Bay region, referred to as EPA’s “blueprint” for restoring the bay. The American Farm Bureau Federation and a coalition of agricultural and builder groups asked the Supreme Court last November to review a lower court ruling that “allows the …