If you ask the average American if things are getting done in Washington, D.C, you?ll probably get an answer of No. However, an Ag banker sees it differently. Bankers from across the country gathered in Milwaukee for the annual Ag Bankers Conference this last few days.
Ed Elfmann is senior vice president of agriculture and rural banking at the American Bankers Association.
?We?re getting a lot of things done almost behind the scenes. You see it at treasury there is different things being done. At USDA, they did some reorganization. Rural Development is no longer an undersecretary, it is an assistant to the secretary,? Elfmann says.
He says it?s not so much big agenda items but little ones.
?They have passed a lot of bills out of the House. However, everybody talks about the big bills (like) tax reform, healthcare, and a potential farm bill. It is always the big-ticket items yet there are a lot of little items that have gone through.?
Elfmann says the items getting done are good for agriculture.
?They have done some things on the environmental front to make it easier on farmers over at EPA. We?ve seen other places across USDA with reorganization by putting people in positions because there is a more direct path on who people need to work with,? Elfmann says.
The American Bankers Association hosts the Ag Bankers Conference each year. This year?s theme was ?The Next Cycle.?
