Sunday, May 11, 2008

While continuing with efforts to strengthen relations with the agriculture community, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced in February the appointment of 30 individuals, including James O. Andrew of Jefferson, to serve on the EPA's newly formed Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee.
The committee is being developed as part of a comprehensive National Agriculture Strategy adopted by the EPA in May of 2006. The strategy seeks to engage agriculture in cooperative, collaborative, and innovative ways, in addition to the traditional regulatory programs the agency administers. The committee will advise the administrator on environmental policy issues impacting farms, ranches and rural communities.

"The formation of this committee is an important breakthrough for the agriculture community," said Andrew. "I am honored for the opportunity to serve in this capacity as we work cooperatively with the EPA to benefit both agriculture and the environment."

A fifth generation Iowa farmer, Andrew is president and general manager of Andrew Farms, Inc. He currently serves as a director of both the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) and the American Soybean Association (ASA). He has also served as a director of the U.S. Grains Council, the National Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. 

Andrew's ongoing support of conservation includes work with the Iowa Soybean Association through the On-Farm NetworkTM, promoting science-based research to minimize inputs of chemicals and fertilizers while maximizing yields without harm to the environment.

His operation was one of the first in the nation to be chosen for the Conservation Security Program Tier 3 Award, the highest conservation award in the nation for farms. He has also been a key player in ISA's work with the Sand County Foundation to include the Discovery Watershed program in the new farm bill; the program would fund on-farm, research-based programs to reduce the flow of nitrates into the Upper Mississippi river basin, and thus limit hypoxia growth in the Gulf of Mexico.

The committee will be chaired by James R. Moseley, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Members were selected from a pool of more than 200 applicants generated from a request for nominations published last November in the Federal Register.

Committee members represent large and small farmers, ranchers and rural communities; rural suppliers, marketers and processors; academics and researchers who study environmental issues impacting agriculture; and environmental and conservation groups.

The first meeting of the committee will take place in March in Washington, D.C.  Initially, EPA will ask the committee to focus on the following three issues:

How EPA's policies and regulations on climate change and renewable energy will affect the agriculture community. The agricultural industry, through the development of renewable energy sources, can play a significant role in the nation's ability to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and its dependence on oil imports.

An environmental strategy for managing waste from livestock operations that considers regulatory and voluntary approaches, and provides tools for producers to attain superior environmental performance.
Development of a constructive approach to advancing sustainable agriculture, protecting the environment and addressing communication between environmental and agricultural interests.

To learn more about the committee, visit the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee site: http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/frrcc.

To learn more about ISA, visit its Web site at www.iasoybeans.com.