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What’s The Biggest Concern For Farmers And Ranchers In 2016 And Beyond?
SARA WYANT
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Looking ahead at all of the top issues that we plan to cover in 2016, it’s hard to sort out which one is going to top the list.
After all, it’s the last year of President Barack Obama’s presidency, providing a final push for fulfilling his personal campaign promises and building upon his legacy. That could mean several executive actions and regulatory decisions on issues like climate change and clean air.
At the same time, the campaigns to replace Obama are in overdrive in an attempt to narrow down the fields before the nominating conventions later this year. In so many ways, 2016 will be about our next president and the agenda that he or she will try to advance.
Whoever wins the presidency may also have enough coattails to influence control of the U.S. Senate. There are 34 seats being contested this year, with 24 of those currently held by Republicans and only 10 held by Democrats. We’ll see a new face elected in six of those Senate races, with three incumbent Republicans and three Democrats retiring.
Republicans currently have a majority in the Senate, with 54 seats compared to 44 held by Democrats and two Independents who caucus with the Democrats.
With 24 seats in play, it’s easy to see why the Senate’s GOP Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, wants to be careful about the types of votes taken before the election. So it’s no surprise that he’s already warned the White House that votes on the President’s signature trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, should be delayed at least until after the election.
Lawmakers are pledging to re-double efforts to pass legislation early next year to block state GMO labeling laws and set national disclosure standards.
“The clock’s ticking. We’ll be back in session in January and that’s got to be at the front,” said House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway, R-Texas. “We've got it fixed in the House. We've just to get the Senate to move on it.”
A Vermont labeling laws is set to take effect in July, and the failure of the federal preemption measure could embolden labeling proponents who are gearing up to push next year for labeling laws in other states like New York.
Beyond Capitol Hill, agriculture and rural interests will be tested by a wide variety of legal cases concerning water quality, endangered species, pesticides and other issues, with the outcome often times decided by the courts.
For example, the already complicated and politically charged legal case filed by the Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) against a handful of northwest Iowa drainage districts is growing more complex. And the implications of this case could reach far beyond the Hawkeye State.
The Water Works board claims that upstream drainage districts in the counties charged send fertilizer, manure and other nutrients from farms into waterways and should be regulated with special permits under the Clean Water Act. The case is currently scheduled for trial in August of this year, but could be delayed because the District Court judge handling the case recently asked the Iowa Supreme Court to clarify Iowa law first.
The future of the controversial “waters of the U.S.” rule, or WOTUS, also hangs in the balance. The rule officially took effect last August but courts have put it on hold nationwide while legal challenges are considered.
The House already passed a Senate-passed disapproval resolution that would eliminate the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule. Obama is expected to veto the WOTUS resolution and Republicans won't be able to get the two-thirds majorities to overcome either veto. But GOP leaders want to make a case to voters for retaining their majorities in the House and Senate and taking over the White House.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, writing in the Omaha World-Herald ahead of the vote, said the veto would force Obama “to be up front with the American people about his administration’s power grabs and will set the stage for correcting these abuses in 2017.”
The WOTUS rule is an “an embodiment of overreach,” said Rep. Adrian Smith, a Nebraska Republican who introduced the House version of the Senate resolution.
Last, but certainly not least, I’m sure we’ll be writing more about farm profitability his year, with much lower returns in many sectors of agriculture and continued agribusiness consolidation.
Driven by strong prices and agricultural exports, US. farm income experienced somewhat of a golden period from 2011 through 2014. But now, many farmers and ranchers tell us they plan to tighten their belts and try to adjust to a “new normal” with significantly lower margins.
Do you have ideas for other top 2016 stories? Feel free to send me a note: Sara@Agri-Pulse.com . ∆
SARA WYANT: Editor of Agri-Pulse, a weekly e-newsletter covering farm and rural policy. To contact her, go to: http://www.agri-pulse.com/
Note: Agri-Pulse Senior Editor Philip Brasher contributed to this story.
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