The current status of the EPA’s Clean Water Rule, formally known as Waters of the United States or WOTUS, is a big topic of discussion at the 2015 Farm Progress Show in Illinois this week.
The rule was blocked by a federal judge last week in response to a lawsuit filed by 13 state attorney generals, but National Corn Growers Association president Chip Bowling of Maryland says EPA’s contention that the rule is only blocked in those 13 states just muddies the waters even more. “I don’t think the judge in North Dakota that gave the injunction just thought it was for the 13 states,” said Bowling during an interview at FPS. “That’s what National Corn Growers thinks also.”
NCGA is part of another lawsuit against the rule which would be national in scope. “This is a national program with national ramifications and means the same thing for a corn farmer in Ohio as it does in Texas, as it does in Maryland,” he said.
In this interview, Chip also discusses the RFS, the corn crop, and growing markets for corn: Interview with NCGA president Chip Bowling
American Soybean Association president Wade Cowan of Texas says they just wish they did not have to deal with this issue at all. “We’re going to see the negative effects on agriculture that comes from the states that are being impacted and the farmers that are being impacted,” said Cowan. “We’re in a tough environment already with the prices and farm incomes being down and this is just a level of uncertainty that we don’t need.”
Wade also takes about other issues important to soybean growers in this interview: Interview with ASA president Wade Cowan
2015 Farm Progress Show Photo Album
