Barrasso Introduces Catch-all Farm Regulation Reduction Bill

Senator John Barrasso introduced a bill Tuesday that incorporates several measures designed to ease the regulatory burden on farmers and ranchers.

Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, says the bill “would help defend agricultural industries from punishing federal rules and reporting requirements,” according to Politico.

Known as the ACRE Act, the legislation includes eight bills, including the Fair Agricultural Reporting Method, or FARM Act. The FARM Act was introduced by Nebraska Republican Senator Deb Fischer, which seeks an exemption to emission reporting requirements for farmers and ranchers. The bill would also end overlapping environmental permitting for pesticide application requirements, protect the personal information of agricultural producers, and prevent farmers from being hit with penalties for engaging in “normal agricultural operations that could be considered ‘baiting’ of migratory game birds.”

From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.

Image credit: Senator John Barrasso/by U.S. Senate Photographic Studio – Frank Fey – http://rpc.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=21afe4c3-3c0c-417b-9ef5-474a2e7ede44, Public Domain, Link