Friday, August 19, 2016

Billy Long: Agriculture community burdened with too much red tape

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

Since 1901, the Missouri State Fair has been a focal point for our state's agricultural industry, enthusiasts, and families making the trip to Sedalia to join in the festivities surrounding it. The agriculture industry is a vital part of Missouri's economy, and the annual fair has always been a measure for our economy's advancement.

As I attended this year's fair, I was impressed but not surprised with the quality of innovations and products coming from Missouri agriculture. I was especially pleased to learn that a trend has been reversed. That is there has been a strong uptick in children of farmers deciding to go into farming as opposed to moving off the farm as has been the case in recent years.

Agriculture and the science related to advancing it make up one of our state's top five industries, and contribute to our state's cattle market, dairy, soybeans, corn, hogs, broiler chickens, hay and other commodities, According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information center in 2014, Agribusinesses made up more than 100,000 entities and hundreds of thousands of workers.

What is disappointing, however, is that the agriculture community is burdened with too much federal bureaucratic red-tape and stifling regulations that I have prioritized working to cut back ever since I took office. Meanwhile, time being spent fighting back overgrowth at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is wasted considering that solutions for advancement go unmoved.

For instance, take bringing rural broadband and its innovative agriculture benefits to farmers and ranchers who are a part of the near million Missourians without high-speed internet access in rural areas. As the core of Missouri's cattle production - the 3rd largest agricultural industry in our state - ranchers could keep track of their livestock with mobile tracking technologies.

Many of these folks are in my district, and across Missouri, are farmers and ranchers who could benefit from internet speeds that would support newer technologies.

At the same time, our agricultural prosperity has been stunted by the last near decade of environmental rules passed by the Obama Administration, and I took part in a joint press conference at the fair bringing attention to harmful policies like the EPA's unconstitutional regulations in the Waters of the US (WOTUS) rules and extremely juvenile policies regulating well-established crop defending pesticides.

It is important that Congress support the growth and development of the agriculture industry by fighting for policies that will encourage economic growth in Missouri and nationwide. When we passed the most recent five-year farm bill on July 11, 2013, it was a major step against the practice of simply extending previous farm bills for shorter unreliable lengths of time – a tactic used nearly 40 times since the 1930s. We need to continue fighting for long-term five-year farm bills that give agribusinesses long-term certainty so that they can plan efficiently and begin working proactively, rather than reacting to federal intrusions unapproved by our constitutional legislative process.

The United States has been the world's leading agricultural producer for many years and with our vast natural resources we need to keep it that way. Agricultural products are a source of significant exports, which benefits our overall economy while providing Americans with a stable, safe, and nutritious food supply.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:51 PM

    Yes right on Billy, I don't want to know when I'm being fed rotted chemical laden meat, or drink lead tainted water or some mix of Fukishima mixed vegetables type concoction from Tyson, yea free market just like a Vegas lunch. Huh Billy?

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  2. Anonymous7:56 PM

    That's right Blubba.

    Them EPA beaurooocrats is purt near as bad as them commies uster be.

    Chinese owned companies owning pork factories?

    What could go wrong?

    More shit in our water?

    More shit in the hog feed?

    More shit in our food?

    Asian Seafood Raised on Pig Feces Approved for U.S. Consumer

    Let's have another fatcat Vegas fundraiser!

    I'd ask Blubba Long if he thinks anything could go wrong but Blubba Long can't see past his next feed trough.

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  3. Anonymous12:48 PM

    Let us stop picking on Billy Bob as he has no clue except who pays him to say things. The Congress and State Legislatures have relaxed our environmental laws so much and allowed factory farms to cull out the small "real" farmers to the point they monopolize the system and can and do own the legislative "system". We have arsenic, lead, mercury and pcb's in our food, water and soil that will take centuries to clean up. We need to start buying organic from known sources, boycott the big Ag products and maybe, just maybe eat a little less. A large percentage of our ag production goes overseas as they are smarter than us by utilizing our water, soil fertility and fuel to feed their people leaving us with the pesticide residue in the soil and water for our children. Carry on Americans, it is on the horizon that we are being sold down the river.

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  4. Anonymous9:50 PM

    "...extremely juvenile policies regulating well-established crop defending pesticides."

    OK, this part made me laugh out loud. I guess these policies were dreamed up at the malt shop by Ralph and Potsie while they were waiting for Fonzie to show up. But it is good to know we have courageous pesticides that are dedicated to defending our crops!

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  5. Anonymous9:21 AM

    "...extremely juvenile policies regulating well-established crop defending pesticides."


    Like dicamba?

    ReplyDelete