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Illinois farmers represented on EPA’s Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee

The director of conservation with the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) says her appointment to an Environmental Protection Agency advisory committee is a unique opportunity.

Megan Dwyer tells Brownfield, “There’s a little over 20 people that come together that look at policy and regulatory issues that impact farms and rural communities and then advise on those issues to the EPA administrator,” she says.

She says her goal on the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee is to use her background as a family farmer and certified crop advisor to represent farmer interests.

“If you’re talking water quality, or carbon scoring, or greenhouse gas, or general environmental soil health benefits, it just has a place in so many different areas of being able to make sure that we have tools in our toolbox, and that things are able to be done in a manner that work at the farm is so important,” she says.

Dwyer says she expects the committee to tackle a wide range of issues from herbicide and pesticide strategies to nutrient management and sustainable ag practices.

Dwyer’s nomination was supported by ICGA, Senator Dick Durbin, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, and former Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. 

AUDIO: Megan Dwyer – IL Corn

Photo courtesy of IL Corn