In Farm Bureau
Critical habitat issues More than 30 counties and almost half the land in Arkansas (most of it privately owned) would be affected if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service moves ahead with its proposal to designate 769 river miles in the state as critical habitat for the Neosho mucket and rabbitsfoot mussel, Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach and state board member Gene Pharr told the U.S. House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee at a field hearing in Batesville May 14. In the potentially affected area, “Arkansas has more than 21,000 family farms, 7.4 million acres of farmland and more than $2.9 billion worth of agricultural income, which accounts for a half million jobs,” Veach said. “Farmers in these areas produce more than 78 million broiler chickens, more than 6 million laying hens, 606,000 acres of rice, 780,000 acres of soybeans and 8.6 million acres of forestland.” Veach took issue with the USFWS’ “incremental approach” to analyzing the
On May 20, Ann Mills (left), NRCS’s deputy undersecretary for natural resources and environment, and Nancy Stoner (right), EPA’s acting assistant administrator for water, toured the Stuttgart Discovery Farm of ArFB state board member Terry Dabbs where researchers are monitoring edge-offield runoff and water quality. The tour was part of the Mississippi River/ Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force annual meeting held in Little Rock. economic impact of critical habitat designations, versus a “full analysis.” Using an incremental approach, the federal government only has to consider the direct cost to government agencies, instead of considering costs to all stakeholders. “A process that allows a full and complete economic impact study before critical habitat areas are declared would, clearly, be a better approach,” he said. Pharr said farmers in the state worry On May 16, Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach of Manila spoke on the state of Arkansas’ agricultural economy to Leadership Arkansas, the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce’s leadership development class. The group was holding its northeast Arkansas agriculture session in Jonesboro.
KEITH SUTTON photo
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that if the critical habitat designations go through, they will lead to unwarranted lawsuits and litigation against private landowners, with little risk placed on those who file the lawsuits because the federal government picks up the legal fees for those filing them. In his opening statement at the hearing, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings noted that the concerns expressed by Arkansas land-
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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation
May 30, 2014 • Vol. 17, No. 11