Iowa agriculture interests aren’t pleased that their governor believes the state should consider limiting how much commercial fertilizer farmers apply to crop fields.
Gov. Chet Culver (D), who is running for re-election, told a Des Moines Register editorial board via teleconference Oct. 11 that “it’s unacceptable that we have 500 polluted lakes and streams. The voluntary compliance, if you will, is not working. The self-regulated approach isn’t working.” Asked if he would expect more regulation of farms, Culver replied, “Yes.”
Culver’s re-election opponent, Republican and former governor Terry Branstad, said he would not support the proposal.
“We need less nitrate and less phosphate,” said Culver, noting that the pollutants add to water-treatment costs and feed algae. “It’s outrageous. We’re going to aggressively put a plan together because what we’re doing now is not enough. One option is to look at applications and how much we allow people to apply and when we allow them to apply it, but I don’t have the answers today.”
“You put bureaucrats in charge and you have a ‘one size fits all’ approach and it reduces our ability to compete,” rebutted Branstad. “Agricultural production is the one bright spot in our economy. We have to be careful about over-regulating.” Referring to a recent Iowa Policy Project report (see next story), he added “This is kind of typical. A liberal think tank comes out with a report in the paper and Culver endorses it without looking at the impact it would have on agriculture.”
Branstad said he would meet with the state’s agricultural secretary and the dean of Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and groups such as the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, to come up with plans to cut runoff should voters elect him.
In a response provided to Green Markets by the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, AAI Chairman of the Board Bob Farber declared, “We are very disappointed by Governor Culver’s recent statement. Iowa’s farmers work tirelessly to protect Iowa’s waterways and are on the cutting edge of nutrient reduction through targeted application. Iowa’s ag industry is taking a progressive approach and working with state agencies to establish a nutrient reduction master plan. We encourage additional research and evaluation before regulations are made.”
Rick Robinson, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation environmental policy adviser, said voluntary efforts by landowners have been far more successful than many acknowledge. Robinson noted that Iowa farmers have cut the average erosion rate on fields by 33 percent since 1987, and that nitrate detections in water wells dropped 11 percent in the past 20 years.