While Canadian farmers worry about the carbon tax and other regulations that increase cost, American producers are dealing with a different reality — fewer regulations.
Since taking office in 2017, President Donald Trump has removed Obama-era regulations on farmers and eradicated other rules.
One major victory for U.S. farmers was Trump’s decision to kill the controversial Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, which Barack Obama passed in 2015.
Landowners and farmers hated WOTUS, which defined the waters regulated by the Clean Water Act. Many felt it was excessive and infringed on landowners’ rights because it gave the Environmental Protection Agency “control over virtually any waters — and many land areas that only temporarily hold water,” the U.S. Farm Bureau said in 2019.
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Trump replaced WOTUS with new legislation in January.
“We’re pleased EPA has finalized a common-sense rule, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, that works with — not against — farmers to protect our nation’s waterways,” said National Pork Producers Council president David Herring. “The previous WOTUS rule was a dramatic government overreach and an unprecedented expansion of federal authority over private lands.”
Repealing WOTUS is just one example of ag de-regulation in America. U.S. ag secretary Sonny Perdue said in 2018 that he wanted to achieve 28 “deregulatory actions” in agriculture.
