Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said today that his agency will create the Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs at the agency to focus on issues important to farmers. Rod Snyder, a former lobbyist for the National Corn Growers Association who currently serves as advisor to the administrator, will head the office.
The announcement, which was made at Commodity Classic in Houston, Texas, was met with praise by NCGA.
“We are exceptionally pleased that there will be a program at EPA that is tasked with ensuring the voices and concerns of farmers are heard loud and clear,” said NCGA President Harold Wolle. “And the administrator could not have found a better person to lead this office than Rod Snyder. Anyone who has worked with Rod will tell you he is a smart, stellar professional who thoroughly understands the agricultural community.”
The announcement comes as EPA deals with a host of issues that will impact American farmers, including the regulations of crucial crop protection technologies and the long-term viability of the ethanol market.
“We look forward to working with Rod and his colleagues in the coming days to ensure that the regulations that EPA puts in place will not hinder the work of farmers,” Wolle said. “Crop protection is essential to farming and has had a positive environmental impact by preventing over-tilling and reducing the need for chemicals during the planting process, among many other things.”
Commodity Classic, one of the nation’s leading conventions for farmers, began on Wednesday and is expected to conclude later today.