Farmers talk directly with lawmakers about regulations how they affect small farmers
170 views · Published 25 June 2018 · 2:34 · Indexed 26 September 2026
Channel: RFD-TV · 2018 · Entertainment
Farmers talk directly with lawmakers about regulations what works, what doesn’t, and how to make sure federal policy isn’t putting producers out of business. RFD-TV’s Sarah Mock has the story. Getting a permit to build a hog barn can be almost impossible for small farmers. “I’d plan on 2 years. a minimum of 2 years time.” “That’s the same problem we’re having in Kentucky. Very few business plans would succeed if it took two years to get approval from the permitting process.” Lawmakers say they’re balancing economic viability on the farm, human health, and environmental quality—but they recognize that they could be doing it better. “The current regulatory environment in agriculture disproportionately burdens small farmers, with many regulations taking a one size fits all approach and many agencies regulating all agriculture small farmers are forced to comply with expensive regulations which in turn negatively impacts the American economy.” Farmers had a lot of advice for federal lawmakers; including that rules should focus on incentives over penalties, state and local bodies should be brought in, and the process must be transparent. “Talk to us about what works. We want the same things, we breathe the same air, we work the same soil we eat the same foods. We want to work with you. We just want to make sure they aren’t burdensome. that they’re something we can comply with easily.” Experts say simply designing the laws to be more understandable can go a long way, and when they aren’t, congress should provide tools to help farmers manage. “We’ve got to make things more accessible to farmers. For example we actually have a farmland access toolkit to help farmers get on the land. We’re also creating a free leasing application because a lot of farmers don’t have easy access to land or can’t get land without spending a lot on a lawyer. Lawmakers can make laws more accessible by designing them to be that way.” Farmers celebrated the end of the Obama-era GIPSA rule and waters of the U.S, saying that those regulations would have been too difficult for small farmers to comply with, and encouraged lawmakers to reconsider additional policies.For RFD-TV, I’m Sarah Mock in Washington. Rep. James Comer (R ) Kentucky Rep. Rod Blum (R) Iowa Glenn Brunkow, Brush Creek Cattle Company Laurie Ristino, Vermont Law School Professor Sarah Mock Washington Bureau Chief, RFD-TV @Sarah_K_Mock
