By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor
Williamson County Farm Bureau (CFB) President Bob Avant, along with three other Texans, was recently appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Task Force for Agricultural Air Quality Research.
Members of the task force were appointed by outgoing U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to help advise USDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on air quality issues important to farmers and ranchers.
The task force, housed under the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), was created by the 1996 Farm Bill to promote USDA research efforts and identify cost-effective ways for agriculture to improve air quality.
Members of the task force have diverse backgrounds and may include, but are not limited to, farmers and ranchers, individuals with expertise in agricultural air quality, rural and urban residents, health experts and scientists.
“I have a background in environmental regulation, and academically, I’m an agricultural engineer. In fact, I wrote my master’s thesis in agricultural air quality,” Avant said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “So, I not only have some academic training in the area, but I have the practical background of production agriculture. And that’s the perspective that I really bring to the table: Do regulations make sense or not? Are they based on good science? Will they cause as little damage as possible to how we farm and ranch in Texas?”
That role is more important than ever under President Joe Biden’s administration, Avant added.
“With the new administration focusing more on environmental and climate change issues, this task force will be important for agriculture’s perspective to be represented,” he said. “I think we’re going to see a whole host of new regulations coming at agriculture, not only from air quality but also water issues and climate change issues. So, it’s going to be really important that we have agriculture at the table to make sure that we don’t have some draconian regulations that are promulgated by the new administration.”
Other areas the task force may provide input on include particulate matter’s impact on air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration and bioenergy.
“it’s just really important that Farm Bureau is at the table on all these federal committees, especially with this new administration just starting up, because I think it’s obvious to all of us that it’s going to be a different ball game in terms of working with the federal government,” Avant said. “And we’re going to have to do everything we can to make sure that we have commonsense regulations in all areas of agriculture, not just for air.”
The new members will serve up to a two-year term beginning Jan. 4 and ending in 2023.
The other Texans serving with Avant on the task force are Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Amarillo Director Brent Auvermann, Ph.D., Texas Cotton Ginners Association Director of Technical Services J. Kelley Green, and engineer/owner at Shaw Engineering Bryan Shaw, Ph.D., P.E., retired chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.