Mark Harris To Agriculture Expert: What Would You Expect To See In An Audit Of The EPA?

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During a House Agriculture Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) questioned CPDA Chairman, Terry Abbott, on what he would expect from an audit of the EPA.

Transcript

00:00The gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Harris, for five minutes.

00:03Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all on this panel for your time and your patience

00:08and the way you have brought your expertise on a very important subject to us today.

00:15Mr. Abbott, let me just start with you.

00:17The Office of Pesticide Programs was created to oversee the safe administration of pesticides

00:23in order to help farmers, but your testimony shows that it's failing to keep up with the demand.

00:30As a result, farmers are missing out on more affordable and effective products.

00:34And so, in December, Mr. Abbott, Congress passed a law that asked for an independent audit

00:40of an independent audit of EPA processes and performance to make recommendations.

00:47And I just wanted to ask if you might have some insights or what you might expect that that audit is going to find.

00:55That's a great question, Congressman.

00:58I'm not sure what it will find, but I do know what we've done.

01:02As registrants, we paid an additional 30%.

01:05That was what was agreed to, and we're not seeing that money for the backlogs

01:10that we continue to talk about here today.

01:12So I would assume that it will maybe see some inefficiencies

01:17and where they could possibly bolster different staffing, whether it's a reduction in staff,

01:26people retire, people leave.

01:27I mean, we just need to fix what's wrong.

01:31Got you.

01:32Well, let me ask you this.

01:33Are the delays at OPP simply a matter of a lack of congressional funding,

01:39or are there further regulatory changes that Congress really needs to consider?

01:43I think you always got to consider the future, look at the past, where we've been,

01:49and where are we going with new innovations, new technologies,

01:51and whether or not the current system fits the bill going forward.

01:56I can't speak to that, per se, but I do know we just need to do,

02:01and I think doing an audit of it is going to probably get to the bottom of some of that.

02:05Okay, thank you.

02:08Dr. Wyatt, we often hear from producers the need for more tools in the toolbox.

02:13We've used that phrase several times here this morning.

02:17As they face increasing pressures and the need to produce more with less,

02:22I wonder if you could take a moment and explain further how biostimulants

02:26being used in conjunction with traditional crop inputs like fertilizer and pesticides

02:31can actually help producers form a well-rounded plan to protect their crops.

02:37Thank you, Congressman.

02:38Great question.

02:39So those fertilizers serve as that foundational component.

02:42We need to provide the plants nutrition that they need to grow and produce a great crop.

02:47That's something we've been doing for a long time,

02:49and it's something that Nutrien prides itself on bringing those materials to the market.

02:55One thing we can do with biostimulants is add a new functional component

02:59where we can take a material, and biostimulants are a broad,

03:04a big tent with lots of ingredients and lots of modes of action

03:07of how they impact the soil or the plant,

03:10and we can add a new component to the fertilizer in a blend.

03:13We can put them together and make something completely new, completely innovative.

03:17And some of these products can be very tailored to what those local conditions are,

03:22fuel conditions, weather conditions, even crop-specific conditions.

03:28Okay, great.

03:29Mr. Cameron, given your experience producing both conventional and organic crops,

03:34I imagine you know the ins and outs of almost any type of crop production tool out there.

03:39I think we would benefit from hearing your perspective on the value of the pesticides

03:43and ensuring an abundant U.S. food supply since you farmed with them and without them.

03:50Could you share with us today how access to these EPA-approved pesticides

03:55is crucial for the farmer's success?

04:00Absolutely.

04:01We know and we see with farming with very limited inputs in organic production

04:07that we've run into disease issues, we've run into pest issues,

04:11that we really have a difficult time controlling.

04:15We've lost crops due to insects and disease,

04:18which is why organic products or produce tends to be higher in price.

04:25There's more risk involved.

04:27And when we have conventional chemistry that we can use for crop protection,

04:33we have a better, you know, back to the toolbox,

04:35we have better tools to be able to put specifically on for certain pests

04:40to control them and get our crop to where we end up with higher yields

04:46and many times better quality.

04:50Thank you all again for being here today

04:52and for your expertise that you've shared.

04:54And Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

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