This editorial today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette argues against the recent Indiana Farm Bureau proposal to create a state department of agriculture. Some quotes from the editorial:
State government could take many steps to improve its performance. But a proposal by the Indiana Farm Bureau for creation of a cabinet level Department of Agriculture is not one of them.Here is a link to the Indiana Farm Bureau report recommending the creation of an Indiana state board of agriculture. Posted by Marcia Oddi at May 8, 2004 02:49 PMOne of the principal issues the Farm Bureau hopes to address – regulation of giant livestock feeding operations – needs stricter enforcement, not the leniency the bureau is seeking with its proposal.
The department of agriculture would assume authority for issuing permits to factory farms from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The Farm Bureau envisions the department as cutting red tape that slows farmers’ building plans, hinders financial opportunities and harms their image with the public on environmental issues. Enforcement against operators who allow manure spills and other violations would remain with IDEM. * * *
The livestock operation rules that concern the Farm Bureau have only been in effect since March 2003. State regulators and the industry should give them more time to work before considering a major change in permitting authority.
The state already has a stand-alone agriculture agency that is closely linked to the Department of Commerce. The lieutenant governor operates as head of the Department of Commerce and statutorily as the commissioner of agriculture, thus giving farm issues a voice at the governor’s right hand and allowing them to be considered in the context of other businesses important to farming.