Kriby Hettver
Written by Kirby Hettver
As a fifth-generation family farmer in Western, Minnesota, I’ve had to overcome many things. Flooded fields, droughts, unpredictable markets and buying and maintaining expensive machinery all help make farming a challenging profession.
I wouldn’t have it any other way, though. A farmer feels a lot of pride when he or she overcomes those challenges and harvests a bumper crop to help provide food, feed, fiber and fuel for a growing world population.
Recently, however, there’s been another challenge added to a farmers’ list: Unnecessary and burdensome government regulations. A proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) called “Waters of the United States” would expand federal water regulations to include ditches, farm ponds and even low-lying areas of fields that might puddle after excessive rain.
The last thing farmers want to do is harm our nation’s waterways. But is it really necessary for the government to start regulating mud puddles?
Before continuing, I want to make clear that I’m not a stereotypical anti-government zealot who immediately lashes out at anything and everything related to the government. I believe that government can and does play a role in making farming better, as evidenced by the partnership among farmers and state governments on local regulations, or building and maintaining conservation plans with area USDA staff.
We don’t need more regulations. We need to make the regulations we already have smarter.
Farmers are taking the lead on water quality issues and would like the federal government to work with us, not against us. Here in Minnesota, corn farmers alone invest $4 million annually in research efforts and other initiatives that address water quality. We’re trying to find practical, on-farm solutions that are based on science and research, not politics.
When agencies like EPA overreach and attempt to overregulate, energy that should be spent improving research efforts and developing on-farm water quality solutions that actually make sense is wasted trying to stop misguided regulations from being implemented before they cause real harm.
Farmers made their voices heard on “Waters of the United States” when EPA initially opened the comment period. Farmers were so unhappy with the proposal that EPA actually extended the comment period to Oct. 20.
Rest assured, farmers will keep making their voices heard. We’ll also continue raising this year’s crop and investing in real-world research and on-farm efforts to protect our country’s lakes, rivers and streams.
Yes, we’d rather be farming than tangling with the federal government, but if Mother Nature can’t stop farmers, neither will intrusive regulations.
—————————————————————————————————————————
For more background, information and resources on the proposed Waters of the United States rule, visit ditchtherule.fb.org.
Kirby Hettver grows corn, soybeans and alfalfa in DeGraff, Minnesota. His farm has been in the family since 1902.