New WOTUS Goes into Effect and AFBF Urges AEWR Changes

**New data from USDA’s Economic Research Service shows food retail concentration increases as geographic area shrinks.

The food retail market is comprised of businesses like grocery stores and supercenters, that sell food products to consumers.

The concentration of these retailers’ shares of the market increased over the last three decades at the national, State, Metropolitan Statistical Area, and county levels in the U.S.

**The Biden administration's version of the Waters of the U.S. rule went into effect last week and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association expressed displeasure in a District Court decision to deny a preliminary injunction of the rule.

NCBA President Todd Wilkinson says, This latest WOTUS rule will place more burdens on family farms and ranches, drive up costs, and prevent cattle producers from making investments in land."

The EPA finalized the latest WOTUS rule at the end of 2022.

The American Farm Bureau Federation urges Congress to pass legislation to freeze the flawed 2023 Adverse Effect Wage Rate, or AEWR (a-were).

AFBF says the rate distorts labor costs for farmers across the country who hire nearly 400,000 employees through the H-2A program.

Farm Bureau says the 2023 AEWR rule missed the mark by such a wide margin that farmers in some states experienced required wage increases of more than ten percent after smaller increases last year.