Post-Election for Ag Pt 1

From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. With the election now behind us and a better idea of what Congress will look like, what does that mean for agriculture?

Syngenta Senior Manager of Federal Government & Industry Relations, Mary Kay Thatcher says Republican probably got a little ahead of themselves …

THATCHER … “Well, I think the pollsters got a little crazy the week or so. You know, even on election day, some people said, oh, Republicans will take 50-some seats. I’m like, what? I don’t see it. So, I think that went a little bit crazy.”

But for agriculture, Thatcher say that’s not necessarily a bad thing …

THATCHER … “Oh, I think there will be when you think about regulations, that one of the benefits will be, I’m always a believer that you better not have a Democratic House and Senate and Administration, or a Republican running all three of them. So, I think having the Republicans take the House is a good thing. I think it will provide a lot more oversight on some of these regs.”

And that, Thatcher says is okay …

THATCHER … “That doesn’t mean things are going to change because this administration recognized six or eight months ago, they were like to lose the Senate or the House or both. And so, if they wanted their agenda to move forward, probably a lot of it was going to have to happen via regulation. And they can still push those regulations. I just think the oversight will give us some transparency into what they’re doing and why they’re doing it, etc. And, you know, maybe it makes them stop and think twice.”

Tune in tomorrow for more on what the minor changes in Congress could mean for agriculture … at least for a couple of years.