Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays is attending the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Washington Watch Fly-in this week in Washington, DC speaking with policymakers and influencers. During his visit, Hays has had the chance to speak with Colin Woodall, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, about President Trump’s first 100 days in office and the impact he has had on agriculture. He says so far, he is optimistic about what he has seen.
“Everything from the roll back of the Waters of the United States to several of the executive orders that have been signed, to the tax reform package that was submitted by the President last week,” Woodall said. “All of these are very pro-agriculture; pro-cattle business.”
Woodall says the ag community is excited to finally have an administration in which to work with and feels that meaningful advancements in policy may actually begin to happen with the leaders now in place. However, he points out that there is a significant amount of red tape that still must be cut through to kill regulations that are plaguing the industry, like WOTUS, once and for all. Right now, the main hurdle in doing this is answering two questions posed by the Supreme Court asking, what exactly is a “navigable water,” and where does the jurisdiction lie on this matter? Woodall and his team hope to take advantage of having a friendly administration to get these questions answered and move the process forward.
“We don’t have to fear EPA anymore. He wants to return a little common sense and science to the discussion. That really resonates with cattle producers,” Woodall said, referring to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. “We’re excited about actually working together with the EPA to protect the environment.”
Click here to see more...