There are many juggling pins in the air for the agriculture industry in Washington, DC. Yesterday we talked about the E15 situation with EPA, we still need a Farm Bill, and farmers need the tools to do their jobs properly and shipping lanes that are open for us to move goods according to our trade agreements.
To start with having the right tools; this morning, Iowa 3rd District Congressman Zach Nunn joined with Democrat Abigail Spanberger from the 7th District of Virginia to introduce two pieces of legislation focused on conservation and the USDA. Nunn’s bill the Conservation Innovation Act would establish a new office in the USDA, known as the Office of Conservation Innovation. Congressman Nunn talks about why having this new office will be good for Iowa farmers, and not just another layer of bureaucracy.
The second bill introduced by Rep Spanberger and co-sponsored by Nunn is called the Streamlining Conservation Practice Standards Act, which will allow for increased public input to the NRCS branch of the USDA. This way farmers could voice their concerns and support new ideas during the review of practices every five years.
Nunn talks about why it is important to have these options available to farmers.
The text of the Bill can be found here.
Now, onto the subject of being able to move our goods in trade.
The Biden Administration and the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced the closure of two important rail crossings along our southern border. Congressman Nunn is leading the Iowa Delegation in a letter to the Administration and Homeland Security to do more about securing the border than closing avenues of trade.
The concern is all the trains full of agricultural and other goods that are already bought and paid for by Mexico, are now just sitting idle waiting to get a cross. This could be as many as 60 trains per day that cannot cross back and forth.
Nunn says that if the Administration had been tougher on border security, such extreme and economically damaging opportunities could have been avoided.
Agriculture is relying heavily on trains to move their goods as the Mississippi River levels are at historically low levels from drought, and the fact that the shipping lane is slowly shutting down for the winter.
The text of the Congressman’s letter can be found here.
