Wharton: Testifying before the House Agriculture subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, three Farm Bureau members spoke of their personal experiences with EPA and what their regulations mean for agriculture. Florida Farm Bureau member Kate English said regulatory restrictions placed on farmers have become too burdensome.

Ebert: There is a growing gap between farmer’s abilities to meet the demands imposed upon them by regulatory compliance and our ability to meet these obligations while remaining profitable.

Wharton:  English explained the process she went through to receive a water use permit from EPA.

Ebert: I am an environmental permitting attorney. It took me three and a half years and I had to hire the former acting general counsel of the South Florida Water Management District and the former head of the Regulatory Division in order to successfully complete it.

Wharton: English warned that federal regulations have become an unworkable complex.

Ebert: You shouldn’t need a lawyer and an engineer in order to farm.

Wharton: Jessica Wharton, Washington.