President Dismisses Farmers Concerns

Posted by Chad Vorthmann on Aug 19, 2011 in Ag/Food Industry, National Affairs | 0 comments

At a town hall meeting in Atkinson, Ill., a farmer expressed concern to President Barack Obama about regulations, telling the president that farmers “would prefer to start our day in a tractor cab or combine cab rather than filling out forms and permits to do what we’d like to do.”

He told the president that “Mother Nature has really challenged us this growing season—moisture, drought, whatever. Please don’t challenge us with more rules and regulations from Washington, D.C., that hinder us from doing that.”

President Obama responded, “If you hear something is happening, but it hasn’t happened, don’t always believe what you hear.” He advised the farmer that if he has a question about a regulation that is going to make it harder to farm, to contact USDA directly.

“My suspicion is a lot of times they’re going to be able to answer your questions, and it will turn out some of your fears are unfounded,” the president said.