Ag News: Redefining WOTUS Rule
**In a tour of the Heartland stop at Nebraska Farm Bureau headquarters, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt met with a roundtable of ag organizations united against the WOTUS rule.
According to Western Farm Press, Pruitt delivered welcome news that on June 15th, EPA sent a proposed "Step 2" rule to redefine "Waters of the U.S." to the Office of Management and Budget for review.
While not providing specifics, Pruitt said the proposal goes back to the basics of what the rule should be under the original Clean Water Act.
**If “the customer is always right,” some growers are listening as organics continue to be in high demand.
Growing Produce reports that since USDA began its organic regulations in 2002, the sector has grown to roughly 25,000 certified organic farms with nearly $50 million in retail sales annually.
While the sector is not seeing the annual double-digit growth of the previous decade, organic produce continues to outpace other food categories in the retail sector.
**The iconic Idaho potato remains an important pillar of the state economy, but that reliable image is being tested by a 20-percent tariff imposed by Mexico in retaliation to president Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Idaho Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Chanel Tewalt tells freshplaza.com those tariffs could put the Idaho potato’s quality and brand strength to the test.
Idaho produces more than a third of all American potatoes, by far the largest.