(From the Ed Martin for attorney general campaign)
Not only has a record drought given the entire U.S. agriculture industry bleak prospects for harvest season, the onslaught of new, burdensome government regulations from the state and federal government, especially the EPA, are also hampering the industry’s ability to operate efficiently.
Ed Martin, the Republican candidate for Attorney General, wants to do his part to reduce job-killing and costly new burdens on Missouri agriculture, especially in this drought-stricken time.
“Outrageous and overly-burdensome regulations only do more harm than good,” Martin said. “Over half of all U.S. counties are now officially disaster areas, including our entire state of Missouri. Agriculture is a pillar of the Missouri economy, and our farmers and ranchers have enough to deal with right now without bureaucrats in Jefferson City or Washington hampering them.”
Last month Martin announced a Protection from Government Overreach plan that would establish a task force within the Attorney General’s office with the goal to find unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations on Missouri agriculture. The task force would then develop a plan to change or remove the regulations.
“The Labor Department recently tried to tell farmers that if you have kids, they can’t work on your family farm. Thankfully, that rule was rescinded. Now, the EPA is trying to change the Clean Water Act to make it more difficult for farmers to simply grow crops. The government is essentially telling the agriculture industry ‘You don’t know what you’re doing, so we have to tell you.’ Unfortunately, Missouri farmers do not have an Attorney General to stand up for them and tell the government that enough is enough.”
Dave Miller, a Neosho farmer is worried that his livelihood is at stake.
“We are really struggling right now,” Miller said. “The drought is frustrating, but we can’t control the weather, so we can struggle through it all and pray for more rain next year. But when a bunch of government regulators come down with more rules that put even more pressure on our already threatened livelihood, we feel almost hopeless. Farmers need an advocate in government, not an obstacle.”
Martin will be visiting with farmers around Missouri over the next couple weeks to discuss his plan and learn more about the problems facing the agriculture industry.
Thank you Ed, for caring enough about this important aspect of the economy that affects everyone to do something about it when you are elected! You don't see many candidates traveling around rural MO talking to small groups of farmers and ACTUALLY listening to them. Keep up the good work!
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