CANTON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Region 4 administrator visited Mississippi to strengthen ties with the state’s farmers.

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson (R-Miss.) hosted Regional Administrator Kevin McOmber at Sumrall Farms in Canton. This was McOmber’s first trip to Mississippi since taking office in January.

McOmber and agricultural leaders agreed that building a relationship between the EPA and farmers is important.

“We want to visit all of the various states that we’re responsible for. It’s a total of eight states and six tribal nations to make sure we have an understanding of what their issues are and that we’re working with them. And it’s about developing relationships. And, helping them where we can,” McOmber said.

“I think it gets a chance to, for us, to showcase farmers doing the right thing. It also gets a chance for us to show the farmers, have, a voice with the Environmental Protection Agency that they can have ongoing positive conversations with them about the things that we’re doing in a positive way,” said Mike McCormick, president of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation.

McOmber plans to meet with JXN Water to discuss progress on the capital city’s water system.