Domestic Environmental Policy

Date: 7/07
Position Number: V-A-1
Expires: 3/08

Background: Corn growers are very concerned with the health and well-being of American citizens and are mindful of the need to balance environmental stewardship with the need for a long-term, dependable food and energy supply and necessity for long-term profitability in farming. We support interaction with any organization that shares our concern for the environment.

Resolution/Position:

1. Support a domestic environmental policy based on sound science.
2. Actively work on reform of the Endangered Species Act.
3. If any public environmental demands or regulations are placed on private land, the loss of income, loss of property value including the cost of capital improvements to make those changes should be paid by the public.
4. Water Flows
   1. Urge federal government agencies to fully consider impacts of regulating water flows on agriculture.
   2. b) Urge all federal, state and local governmental agencies to expeditiously repair water retention and protection structures damaged by flooding to protect all cropland producers who wish to keep their land in production.
   3. Support individual's water rights.
5. While noting the importance of eminent domain for the orderly growth of our country and the expansion of our land transportation system, we oppose any government action that would infringe upon property owner's rights without appeal and proper compensation. We also recognize the importance of conserving agricultural land for future generations and oppose the unnecessary use of Eminent Domain to convert agricultural lands to other uses.
6. Natural Resource Policy. Encourage a system that incorporates local farmer input as a model for dealing with farm-related environmental issues and regulations.
   1. Encourage the development of local resource planning groups composed of agricultural landowners and producers to address local conservation and environmental issues.
   2. Encourage the utilization of organizations and government agencies as technical advisers to the local resource planning group. Producer Notification: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall issue timely notification of regulatory changes to allow individual producers adequate lead time to adjust agricultural production practices.
7. Conservation/Tax Policy
   1. Encourage states to enact legislation providing tax incentives for crop land converted to filter strips.
   2. Oppose taxes on the usage of crop inputs as an effort to reduce their usage.
   3. Recommend legislation be enacted to allow farmers and landowners income tax credits for approved conservation structures and practices.
   4. Support a change in the U.S. tax code to allow tax deductibility for permanent conservation
      practices to land owners who cash rent their land.
8. Support farmland protection and smart growth partnerships that would provide funding, in matching grants to states, communities, tribes and land trusts, for the purchase of development rights with the underlying fee running with the land to be used on farmland threatened by development. This program should be administered by USDA.
9. Support state corn grower association efforts to secure federal funding for state water quality efforts.
10. We support sound science-based efforts to address air quality. Current efforts by the EPA to regulate agricultural dust go beyond what is reasonable or sound science-based and should be reevaluated.
    1. We support gathering more data and science about the human health effects of agricultural dust.
    2. b) Additionally, we support Congressional oversight to review the effects of air quality standards on agriculture to ensure they are workable.
    3. We oppose mandatory air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter on agriculture.
11. Require that any new environmental regulations show a positive cost and risk benefit analysis before implementation.