Many had anticipated a regulation revolution to arrive Jan. 20 and Trump delivered on those promises.

First off he signed an executive order which put on hold any regulations that were finalized in the final days of the Obama Administration, similar to actions taken by previous administrations. For agriculture that includes a delay on the organic livestock standards rules and the “GIPSA” rules.

The organic livestock standards rules was originally set to take effect on March 20, 2017, but  now is delayed until May 19. The Farmer Fair Practices Rules, written by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), include two proposed regulations and an interim final rule. The deadline for submitting public comments on the Farmer Fair Practices Rules was extended to March 24 from Feb. 21; the effective date of the interim final rule was pushed back to April 22 from Feb. 21.

Shortly after the election, Trump stated he would require two regulations be eliminated before any agencies can move forward with a new regulation. Although it sounds good on paper, there are some concerns on how it will be implemented going forward.

The executive order pertains to any new regulations that were released in the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2016. The heads of all agencies have been directed that the total incremental cost of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, to be finalized this year will also not have a cost, unless otherwise required by law or consistent with advice provided in writing by the director of the White House Office of Management & Budget.

Colin Woodall, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn., said, “We’re thrilled with the '2-for-1' rule. It is one of the best things (Trump) could have done to address overregulation.”

It remains to be seen how the executive order will be implemented across the federal government, with much depending on how agencies interpret it in coming months. Woodall noted that concerns were surfacing in recent years that regulatory bodies didn’t think twice about the economic impact of proposed regulations. Now, before they can move forward with a new rule, they will have to think about what needs to be rolled back, which will create more accountability among the agencies, he said.

One regulation that was not released at the end of the Obama Administration but was called for within the law was a bipartisan genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling bill that instructed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to come up with regulations governing disclosure of genetically modified ingredients.

The law set a deadline for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to release rules for complying with that law by July 29, 2018. USDA took steps toward implementing the law, and while a proposal for the rule was not expected until later this year, USDA was working to publish an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to pose questions to the public and stakeholders to get feedback on the best way to approach the labeling law. However, the ANPR was withdrawn under the Trump Administration along with other actions that were in process at the end of the Obama Administration.

The American Soybean Assn., stated, “It’s unclear how exactly the executive order will impact the implementation of the GMO labeling law and other rules required by statute, but more direction is expected after the anticipated confirmation of Sonny Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture.”

Woodall said the Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule and organic livestock standards rule are two regulations that were introduced within the current fiscal year that could be rolled back or eliminated as part of the executive order. This could provide the two-for-one called for under the executive order to get the GMO labeling bill across the finishing line.

Richard Sellers, American Feed Industry Assn. senior vice president of public policy and education, said Trump, as most newly elected presidents do, is addressing the largest issues promised during his campaign. “We believe in the near future the Trump Administration will address the feed industry’s concerns on overregulation,” Sellers said.