EPA Administrator Jackson and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Meet with Farmers, Ranchers, and Renewable Energy Leaders in Iowa

This week EPA Administrator and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack met with farmers and other leaders to learn about what they are doing to protect air and water quality. Below is the press release about the event.

WASHINGTON – Today, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa
Jackson and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with farmers and
ranchers in Iowa to discuss EPA and USDA’s joint efforts to ensure that
American agriculture continues to be productive. Jackson and Vilsack
highlighted the cutting-edge conservation measures producers have
pioneered over the past decades and met with renewable energy leaders to
discuss agriculture’s role in making the nation more energy secure.

“These opportunities to talk with farmers on their land and see their
operations at work are incredibly valuable. Open communication and
transparency are the essential first steps toward protecting air and
water quality and ensuring the health of farming communities,” said EPA
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Agriculture is part of the foundation of
the American economy. EPA’s mission to safeguard clean air, clear water
and productive land is a critical part of sustaining farming jobs and
productivity, and it’s vital that we communicate and work together on
these issues we share.”

“The farmers and ranchers we visited with today – and hundreds of
thousands like them around the country – are our nation’s first and
finest conservationists. They understand better than anyone that you
cannot continually take from the land without giving back and they have
taken incredible strides to protect the land they rely on,” said
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “USDA will continue to work
hand-in-hand with EPA to ensure that both agencies are pursuing
common-sense regulation that will let farmers make the decisions they
feel are best for their own operations.”

Jackson and Vilsack toured a livestock farm in Pleasantville, Iowa and a
1,600 acre row crop farm in Prairie City, Iowa. They also toured REG
Newton, LLC, a biodiesel plant in Newton, Iowa, to discuss agriculture’s
role in renewable energy development.

EPA and USDA have worked together to encourage conservation work and the
profitability of American farmers. EPA’s recent decision to waive a
limitation on selling gasoline that contains more than 10 percent of
ethanol represents one of several steps needed from federal and state
government and industry to commercialize E-15 gasoline blends.

The Renewable Fuel Standard EPA proposed will encourage farmers to
continue to work with industry to innovate and provide the nation with a
source of clean renewable fuel. At the same time, it will create jobs
around the country and increase farmers’ income by $13 billion annually.


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