While in Washington, D.C., Associate Farm Editor Reagan Calk had the chance to visit with the Senior Director of Public Policy at the Agricultural Retailers Association, Hunter Carpenter, about the ARA’s most recent priorities for producers and their latest work.
“We want to continue to work with industry coalitions to promote development and use of all liquid fuels and kind of support an ‘all of the above” energy strategy,'” Carpenter said. “This legislation goes a long way to help do that. Obviously, we want more U.S. independence on energy, and we want to make sure that we have a less volatile market, not only for diesel and gas but also for Nitrogen and natural gasses.”
The energy sector plays a large role, Carpenter said, as it pertains to on-time delivery or products for ag retailers delivering to their former customers.
Carpenter also talked about some of ARA’s main priorities concerning transportation and supply chain.
“We have always been concerned with supply chain disruptions and trying to make sure that our members can get the inputs to their farmers on time,” Carpenter said. “Obviously, you want to make sure that the surface transportation board is reauthorized. (We) continue to be interested in what goes on with entry-level driver training requirements. That certainly increases costs for ag retailers and employing drivers. We also have continued concerns on freight rail and what is going on in that industry right now, not only on the labor dispute side but on the safety side of things as we continue to see more and more train derailment.”
Carpenter said there is certainly a “multi-pronged” approach to transportation and the length it plays in the on-time delivery of products.
Regarding ARA’s position on utilizing worker visa programs while also securing U.S. borders, Carpenter said ARA is in support of having secure borders.
“We do want to make sure that our retailer customers and their farmers have what they need to not only plant, but harvest a crop,” Carpenter said. “(It is) certainly dependent on guest worker programs like the H2A program. We want to make sure that necessary reforms are made there to ensure that there are on-time and easy-to-use certification processes to make sure that folks are coming over here legally and have the proper permits to work that they are allowed to do so.”
Turning the page to the 2023 Farm Bill, Carpenter said ARA is supportive of increased farm safety nets on crop insurance. ARA continues to stay involved in conservation programs at NRCS and is focused on making sure that ARA members are certified as technical service providers to help their grower customers put together nutrient management plans for their farms.
