If you’re planning to visit Jonesboro, Ark., on Feb. 15, make sure your tape recorder has fresh batteries. The question-and-answer session at the 2006 Arkansas State University Agribusiness Conference could be especially lively.
While many renowned speakers are on the slate, most attention will be on Ken Cook, the founder and head of the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
To the chagrin of many, Cook is well-known to those working in the agriculture policy arena and certainly has the ear of Congress. Since 1985, he’s been involved in the development and advocacy of conservation efforts as part of U.S. commodity programs.
However, he is probably better known — especially among Southern producers — through the controversy and rancor generated by his stances on subsidy payments and EWG’s database on payment recipients.
Despite a potentially cool reception, Cook said he’s keen to visit the Mid-South. “I hope to spend some time on farms in the area. I do that as often as possible. (Last fall), I was in California rice country for three days and had an incredible time.
Cook, who spent summers on his uncles’ Missouri farms growing up, said he will remind farmers about the history of subsidy programs, especially from the late 1980s through the early 1990s. During that period, he said, Congress shifted funds from voluntary conservation programs to commodities.
“The ranks of people interested in reforms are growing. It’s swelled since the budget reconciliation, when farmers took essentially no hit.