Contentious Issues Probed at Policy Forum
Published: Friday, August 9, 2024
Shipping containers, the Endangered Species Act, and the farm bill were all part of the Indiana Ag Policy Summit held last Wednesday at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds in Noblesville. The event was hosted by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Growers Assn.
The event opened with a panel discussion on growing container shipping in the state. Courtney Kingery, CEO of Indiana Soybean Alliance, Indiana Corn Growers Assn. and Indiana Corn Marketing Council, moderated the panel.
Jody Peacock, CEO for Ports of Indiana, noted that the port authority moves 12.6 million tons of cargo per year but has not yet accepted containers. However, in June, U.S. Customs and Border Protection approved container shipping for Ports of Indiana.
"We're establishing the first-ever water route between Chicago and the world," Peacock said.
Aaron Kuhn, regional marketing manager for POET, says that goods from Indiana can go to all corners of the world. With container shipping, farm goods can be loaded directly into a container, which is then trucked to a port and shipped overseas.
Paul Pence, founder and CEO of Pence Group, said that through his travels in Asia, he's seen that many meals involve soybeans in some way, and he wants to make sure those soybeans are from Indiana.
"Indiana's advantage is our geography," Pence said, referencing ports in Chicago and Cincinnati. "We want to work together well as the Midwest to have an efficient system."
Mike Johanns, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and current chairman of agriculture for Alliantgroup, spoke on current efforts to pass the farm bill. Johanns noted that this will be a historic farm bill.
"This farm bill is our first trillion-dollar farm bill," Johanns said.
The legislation is estimated to spend 1.5 trillion over 10 years and 81.1% of that amount is in nutrition programs.
"You've probably heard the saying, 'We need more farm in the farm bill,'" Johanns said. "That's what's driving that."
He said battleground issues, including the Thrifty Food Plan, climate goals on the American Recovery Act and commodity credit guardrails need to be resolved. But Congress won't be back in D.C. until Sept. 9 and lawmakers will only have 15 working days before the deadline to pass the farm bill.
"Because of elections, members of Congress will want to be back home," Johanns said. "We could be waiting until January and battling it out until 2025."
Another contentious issue is the Endangered Species Act and the Environmental Protection Agency's herbicide strategy. The goal of the ESA is to ensure 1,700 currently endangered species don't go extinct. Kyle Kunkler, American Soybean Assn. director of government affairs, said that the ESA presents a unique challenge for pesticides while proposed regulations risk either pricing farmers out of pesticides or putting them out of business.
"We don't view those as appropriate outcomes in either case," Kunkler said. "Our hope is that we've provided some good options that we think are easier ways out. We're trying to provide (EPA) with other ideas or alternatives to complying that can be more affordable and easier for farmers to implement."
One alternative is adding affordable options to labels, such as taking an educational course about endangered species, similar to a course for applicators about restricted use pesticide. Another alternative is adding a spray drift reduction adjuvant to the tank.
"I'm sure a lot of folks would prefer to use a $2 spray drift adjuvant as opposed to have to put in place a 30-foot riparian buffer," Kunkler said.
Joe Stoller, Indiana Soybean Alliance Membership and Policy Chair, raises corn and soybeans in Bremen, and attended the Summit. He said that the ESA and EPA regulations will affect the products he can use to grow his crops.
"It's a little unnerving seeing how many regulations are coming down the pipeline and how little opportunity we have to change the course of action that they're pushing on us," Stoller said.
He said that some of the practices that are proposed as a requirement, such as buffers around all fields, would be difficult to implement.
"It would be expensive, it would be less tillable acres on your farm," Stoller said. "Just certain areas that just wouldn't work, depending on the field, size and shape."
Stoller added there's not enough time in a day to keep track of more records for the proposed requirements.
The event also included a Technology Showcase featuring autonomous sprayers and other precision ag equipment. Awards also were presented. The Friend of the Farmer Award, which recognizes policymakers or elected officials for their work with the agriculture industry, went to Congressman Jim Baird of the fourth Congressional District. Baird has worked with the Next Generation Fuels Act and serves on the House Agriculture Committee.
The American Soybean Assn. Scholarship, a national award of $7,000 for children and grandchildren of ASA members, was given to Addie Gauck. She is a 2024 grad from North Decatur High School and will study Agriculture Systems Management at Purdue.
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