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ASA sees opportunity in proposed monarch listing
A member of the board of directors for the American Soybean Association (ASA) says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed listing of monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act is an opportunity for agriculture.
Brandon Wipf, a South Dakota farmer, tells Brownfield, “They did go with a threatened and not a fully endangered decision.” He says, “We’re looking forward to an opportunity not only for farmers to participate in that rulemaking, but also to inform the public about some of the great things that we’ve already been doing.”
He says on-farm monarch conservation starts with milkweed.
“On our farm, if I see milkweed growing in the ditches when I’m mowing, I just go around it.” He says, “It’s really that simple. So, I’ve provided a little bit of a refuge for them on my farm just by using the field ditches and the fence lines and things like that.”
Wipf says the current 90-day public comment period is a crucial time for agriculture.
“To help steer toward a flexible solution that allows agriculture to still do what we’re so good at, which is producing great food for America and taking great care of the environment, and making sure they know about our concerns.” He says, “You can bet that everybody else is going to be doing that too.”
He says the goal of ASA is to prevent monarchs from reaching full endangered status, which would bring even greater impacts to farmers.
A link to the proposed listing on the Federal Register can be found HERE.
AUDIO: Brandon Wipf – ASA
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