At the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) annual Washington Watch event in Washington, D.C., Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to talk with the President and CEO of the Agricultural Retailers Association, Daren Coppock.
The ARA recently wrapped up their annual Washington, D.C. fly-in, which Coppock said focused heavily on the 2024 Farm Bill.
“In our case, we are trying to get some provisions in the Farm Bill that will allow people that have professional certifications in agronomy, so a certified crop advisor, those kinds of certifications, to be considered as third-party service providers under NRCS programs,” Coppock said. “That would allow them to write conservation plans for growers and to provide the service for a fee, whereas today if they want to do that, they still have to go to NRCS, even after earning that professional certification and jumping through more hoops to be able to do that.”
Coppock said the feedback for this provision has been positive, so when the Farm Bill makes it across the finish line, he is optimistic that it will be included.
“Our main concern is to make sure producers continue to have a safety net underneath them, whether that is the commodity programs and crop insurance or some other innovation they want to make,” Coppock said. “There is too much risk out there from weather and markets and everything else for the growers to be out there without any kind of protection whatsoever.”
Regarding supply chain issues, Coppock said the supply chain is looking better now than during the height of the pandemic.
“A couple of label issues around pesticides may restrict access to a couple of those products, and there have been a couple of production shortages where there are allegations of certain products in certain markets,” Coppock said. “It is nothing like it was in 2021 when we just weren’t sure we were going to get anything.”
Coppock said he is looking forward to the annual ARA conference set for December 3-5 in Houston, Texas, which he said will focus on artificial intelligence and more. The theme of “Powering Ag Retail’s Next Frontier” will guide the speakers and session topics. Registration will open in June 2024.
