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 Photo: Irrigation AssociationChad Forcey has been in politics since 1998, first working for elected officials and then lobbying for the green industry.
“It’s a job I couldn’t imagine giving up, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he says.
His experience and enthusiasm has landed him the title of state affairs director of the Irrigation Association. After six years as director of government relations for the Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association, Forcey is now tasked with working with IA members and politicians to influence state irrigation regulations across the country.
Lawn & Landscape caught up with Forcey to talk about what industry issues keep him up at night, traveling and good movies.
What does your day-to-day schedule look like?
Well, a lot of questions and tips about legislation come from members across the 50 states. We are tracking more than 20 key state bills right now and numerous small state and local initiatives.
When I’m in the office, I’m doing whatever I can for us to No. 1, ascertain what these bills are and how they affect the irrigation trade across the country at the state level, and, No. 2, to help our members get involved and take important positions and play important roles at the state level.
When I’m out of the office and on the road, which is frequent, I’m meeting with irrigation contractors and manufacturers around the country, and I’m helping them to navigate their legislators and the regulatory process.
What are the most pressing issues you’re dealing with now?
Right now, I’m thinking a great deal about licensing, certification and how to promote industry professionalism around the country. The method, the policy approaches, the political relationships and cultures vary greatly from state to state.
But the objective remains the same: How can we use our influence at the state level to promote good licensing programs that help irrigation professionals distinguish themselves, promote and build on their Irrigation Association certifications, and bring that level of workmanship across the trade up to the level utilized by our highly-skilled members. Our members do a very good job. We need to make sure that the rest of the industry is following their lead.
Government is coming after contractors right now across the country in a cross section of trades.
What keeps me up at night is the danger of sitting on the sidelines until workmanship and skill issues prompt state legislators to get involved and pass licensing and regulation bills at the expense of our skilled members.
We need to come to the table first.
Is that the biggest issue?
There is another key issue that I would be remised if I didn’t bring it up and that’s water policy in general. This keeps me up at night more than the licensing question. That is because our industry professionals are constantly improving the conservation technologies – this is a good thing – and that allows our industry to make sure water is available for irrigation for future generations.
The irrigation trade and profession have been around for a long time. … It has to be protected and preserved for the future. In order to do that, water has to be utilized as efficiently as possible.
Policy makers at the local, state, federal level are asking important questions right now about the availability of water for the future. This pertains to numerous industries, not just ours, and it also pertains to the general public’s use of water. As they have these discussions, are we an important part of those discussions? We have to be.
In five to 10 years, what will the regulatory landscape look like?
We’re going to have a lot more states that have licensing on the books.
Right now we have 10 with licensing on the books and a couple more that are ironing out licensing. In five to 10 years, I wouldn’t be surprised if that number doubles or triples.
There will be a lot more regulation affecting small business contractors in the irrigation trade at the state level. Also, our water quantity problems in the West and our water quality problems in the East, and other parts of the country, are going to probably escalate.
Since you’re on the road a lot, do you have any travel tips?
I’ve learned travel tips from some movies. I saw “Meet the Parents” with Ben Stiller and from that movie I learned, as Robert De Niro’s character tells his daughter, never check luggage. So I like my carry-on Samsonite bag.
Are you a big movie buff? What is your favorite movie?
Yes. My favorite movie of all time is “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” with Steve Martin and John Candy.
It’s funny, but it’s deeply moving.
The author is an associate editor at Lawn & Landscape. She can be reached at clawell@gie.net.
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