Beef Buzz News
The Fight is Coming - AFBF President Zippy Duvall Unveils New Campaign to Pass to WOTUS 2.0
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 09:58:02 CST
Over the years of battle with the Obama Administration over the Waters of the United States rule, two agricultural groups stood out among all the others trying to carry the water on behalf of farmers and ranchers - the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the American Farm Bureau. Zippy Duvall, president of the AFBF addressed the members of the organization at their 100th Annual Convention this week in New Orleans, during which he said that after the Trump Administration transitioned into control of the White House, he received a phone call from one of the key players of the Trump team regarding WOTUS.
“Early this last year, Mr. Pruitt, EPA Administrator at that time, called me and sked me to go to lunch with him. He wanted to talk about WOTUS,” he said. “He asked me what a new rule looked like to me. I said it needs to be one or two pages. It need to have clear definitions and a farmer needs to be able to take it, put it in his truck and drive across his farm and say ‘yes, I know that’s a Waters of the US’ and ‘no, that’s not - that puddle’s not.’”
Fast forward to today - Scott Pruitt has since been replaced by Acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, who is finishing what Pruitt started in his effort to repeal and replace the Obama-era WOTUS rule. Duvall says just recently, when Wheeler announced the new proposed rule to take the place of the original 2015 version, he stated it would have all the criteria that Duvall had outlined during his lunch with Pruitt the year prior.
“Now you tell me - that wasn’t Zippy Duvall talking. That was American Farm Bureau’s influence,” Duvall stated before laying out the new AFBF campaign that will encourage passage of the proposed new WOTUS rule, which will soon be subject to a public comment period once the government is restarted. “The new campaign is ‘Clean Water, Clear Rules.’ That comment period is not just for us. It’s for everybody to comment and let me tell you something. Environmentalists hate this new rule. They are going to come out in force and try to defeat this new rule. But, if I look through history, I’ve never seen this organization walk away from a fight. Never. By golly we’re not going to this time.”
Listen to more of Duvall’s remarks on AFBF’s continuing efforts to revise the WOTUS rule, with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays, on today’s Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
Listen to more of Duvall's remarks on AFBF's continuing efforts to revise the WOTUS rule, click below.
right-click to download mp3
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Beef News
Cattle on Feed Up 2% - OSU's Derrell Peel Breaks Down the Numbers in this Month's USDA Report Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:59:59 CDT
Certified Angus Beef Just Passed 1 Billion Pounds in Annual Sales, But Can They Really Hit 2 Billion? Thu, 18 Apr 2019 10:17:19 CDT
Speculation Swirls Over Potential Opportunities for US Meat Industry in Wake of African Swine Fever Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:36:17 CDT
Register Now to Attend the 2019 Hemphill Beef Cattle Conference Featuring Dr. Temple Grandin Tue, 16 Apr 2019 10:22:45 CDT
Monday April 15th is Deadline for Submitting Comments to EPA on Waters of the US Rule Sun, 14 Apr 2019 14:25:12 CDT
Consumer Priorities Can Change, But These 3 Things Never Fall Off the List - Taste, Flavor, Juiciness Fri, 12 Apr 2019 10:18:04 CDT
CAB: 1 in 5 Fed Cattle in North America Hit Certified Angus Specs Thanks to Producers' Commitment to Quality Mon, 15 Apr 2019 05:02:54 CDT
Beef Industry's Digital Strategy Beginning to Reach Maturity as Millennials and Gen-Z Come of Age Wed, 10 Apr 2019 10:21:56 CDT
That Chuck is One Quick Study - Alisa Harrison Explains How Industry's New AI Spokesman Works Tue, 09 Apr 2019 10:48:32 CDT
Simmental Association Launches Exciting New Project Designed to Expand Carcass Data Collection Mon, 08 Apr 2019 11:26:50 CDT
NCBA's Colin Woodall Says Green New Deal Only Helps Strengthen Beef Industry's Credibility Fri, 05 Apr 2019 14:09:25 CDT
China Trade Talks Seem to be Progressing Well, But You Know China... You Really Never Can Tell Thu, 04 Apr 2019 12:18:11 CDT
Flooding Less Devastating Than Thought with Damage at Just a Fraction of Early Estimates Wed, 03 Apr 2019 12:10:47 CDT
Analyst Randy Blach Says Margins a Little Tight This Year, But Cow/Calf Sector Remains Profitable Tue, 02 Apr 2019 12:48:41 CDT
Rabobank's Don Close Says Cattle Market Has Peaked Out for the Year - Better Sell While You Can Mon, 01 Apr 2019 19:07:29 CDT
CoBank Analyst Will Sawyer Sees Great Opportunity in Continued Growth of Meat Export Business Fri, 29 Mar 2019 11:33:48 CDT
NEWSFLASH: Changing Your Diet Won't Change the Environment - In Case You Weren't Aware Thu, 28 Mar 2019 10:45:50 CDT
Left's Anti-Ag Agenda Exposed as Dems Fail to Uphold Green New Deal in Embarrassing Defeat Wed, 27 Mar 2019 11:33:00 CDT
Grilling Season is Upon Us - Beef Demand Expected to Climb as Markets Approach Seasonal Peaks Tue, 26 Mar 2019 10:24:40 CDT
Higher Than Expected Placements Take Industry by Surprise in Latest USDA Cattle on Feed Report Mon, 25 Mar 2019 11:52:24 CDT
Is Your Ranch Operation Not Performing Like It Should? May be Time for a New Management Plan Fri, 22 Mar 2019 11:31:24 CDT
If Analysts Have it Right, USDA's March On Feed Report May Show First Inventory Decline in Years Thu, 21 Mar 2019 15:12:42 CDT
Per Capita Meat Supplies May Back Off Slightly in 2019- Which Could Be Supportive of Cattle Prices Wed, 20 Mar 2019 10:44:37 CDT
Cattle UpCycle Feedstuffs Not Usable by Humans- A Sustainable Success Story for the Beef Industry Tue, 19 Mar 2019 08:38:28 CDT
Selecting for Leg and Hoof Structure- Dr. Jennifer Bormann Says a Genetic Baseline is Being Developed Mon, 18 Mar 2019 09:02:37 CDT
NCBA Chief Vet Dr. Kathy Simmons Explains the Necessity of Responsible Antimicrobial Stewardship Fri, 15 Mar 2019 11:34:50 CDT
BQA Program Highly Regarded as Producers' Most Important Tool to Ensure Quality Beef Production Thu, 14 Mar 2019 12:48:31 CDT
2018 an Exceptional Year for US Beef Exports Especially in Asian Market Despite Current Challenges Wed, 13 Mar 2019 10:58:19 CDT
Meat Scientist Brad Morgan Unphased by Rise of Fake Meat, Says It's No Competition for Real Thing Tue, 12 Mar 2019 12:01:16 CDT
Market Watcher Derrell Peel Says USDA On Feed Report Suggests Spring Weather Market Brewing Mon, 11 Mar 2019 12:22:29 CDT
Beef Industry Claims Major Victory in Fake Meat Fight But NCBA's Colin Woodall Says War's Not Over Fri, 08 Mar 2019 13:02:24 CST
If US-China Relations Fixed, Beef Demand Could Grow Exponentially - Unless Recession Gets in Way Thu, 07 Mar 2019 11:32:46 CST
NCBA's Alisa Harrison Explains Why Checkoff Research is so Critically Important to the Beef Industry Wed, 06 Mar 2019 14:25:56 CST
Industry Seeing a Return on Its Digital Investment - NCBA's Alisa Harrison Says Strategy is Working Tue, 05 Mar 2019 13:05:18 CST
There's a New Expert in Town and His Name is Chuck- NCBA Formally Launches Chuck Knows Beef Mon, 04 Mar 2019 12:14:30 CST
