The Arkansas Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation today called for clear, cost-benefit analyses from regulatory agencies that enforce the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Since current rules account only for government expenditures, Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach said the often oppressive cost of ESA enforcement on the private sector gets ignored.
“If over-zealous enforcement of federal laws, such as the ESA, were to hinder, disrupt or further burden our farmers and ranchers, we will not be able to sustainably raise the crops and livestock necessary to feed the 7 billion people currently on our planet, much less the 9 billion projected by 2050,” Veach said.
Veach spoke before the House Committee on Natural Resources in support of HR 4319, the Common Sense in Species Protection Act of 2014. The bill would require federal agencies to show full economic justification before placing any land under the protection of a critical habitat designation, which often severely restricts farming and ranching in the affected area.