Ray Gaesser farms with his family in Southwest Iowa. They harvest about 3,000 acres each of corn and soybeans each year along with serving as President of the American Soybean Association. Chuck spoke with him recently at Ag Media Summit and they talked policy.
Ray said that policies are ASA’s priority and reiterated their work to get the farm bill passed. He said they are continuing to work with USDA to make sure it is implemented and that farmers understand the programs within it. Of course another hot topic is Waters of the United States. Ray said they have met with the EPA a lot and recently hosted a webinar with Nancy Stoner to allow growers to ask questions concerning this issue.
“It appears to many of us in agriculture that the new rules and regulations allow EPA to reach even farther from our farms. Originally we thought navigable water was navigable water.”
Along with the rest of the agricultural community, ASA, is questioning EPA’s definition of navigable.
“We are really confident that a farmer knows how to manage their land much better then someone in Washington D.C. or even someone at the regional or state level. All the farmers I know really do want to take care of their land. They want to sequester the nutrients and keep the soil in place.”
You can listen to my interview with Ray here: Interview with Ray Gaesser, American Soybean Association
