While the Farm Bureau and the Environmental Protection Agency have often found themselves on opposite ends of a number of political battles, they appear to be uniting behind the idea of nutrient management, sharing a belief that restricting and regulating the use of farm nutrients can be beneficial to farmers and the environment.
For the past several years, farm advocacy groups have found themselves battling an increasingly aggressive EPA. With support from the Obama administration, the EPA has been flexing its regulatory muscles, attempting to limit farm pollution and use of farm chemicals. Their most ambitious project has been centered on the Chesapeake Bay, where they attempted to prevent farmers from discharging sediment into Chesapeake waterways.
While the Farm Bureau opposed this EPA regulatory policy, it appears to be embracing some limited forms of regulation in the midst of the Corn Belt.
In Iowa, farmers are implementing a voluntary nutrient management program that would limit nitrate and phosphate pollution in local rivers and streams.
According to the president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, “Farmer to farmer, let’s look at one another, as stewards of the land, and take a long, hard look at how we care for two of our most precious resources: soil and water. It has never been more important than today to have this dialog with each other about conservation. We must go beyond talking, to doing what is right for your farm and for all of Iowa’s natural resources.”
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