Reforming farm policy to benefit the environment
America's farmers, ranchers and forest landowners produce an extraordinary bounty of food, energy and fiber — as well as clean air, water and habitat for wildlife.
But farm and food policies could do more to meet the needs of farmers, consumers and communities.
Renewal of federal farm and food programs in 2007 creates that rare opportunity.
Update
Farm Bill is in its final stages
The farm bill has now passed both houses of Congress. The House passed the final, compromise version of the bill on May 14th by a vote of 318 to 106. The Senate voted 81 to 15 in favor of the bill on May 15th. It remains to be seen whether the President will follow through on earlier statements and veto the bill.
The farm bill has been working its way through Congress for months, passing through the House in July, 2007 and the Senate in December, 2007. The two sides then had to work out their differences in a conference committee composed of members of both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. That committee announced a final, compromise farm bill on May 8th.
The conference report provides $4 billion in new conservation funding, a step in the right direction, but still insufficient to meet farmer demand. A mixed-bag, the conference report makes some improvements, but moves in the wrong direction on some issues, such as subsidies. The final farm bill could be on the President's desk as soon as the week of May 19th.
New Report- Disaster Trust Fund is a disaster for taxpayers and the environment
A new report [PDF] by Environmental Defense shows that the Senate's proposed Agriculture Disaster Relief Trust Fund would help only a handful of farmers in a few states, harm the environment, and cost taxpayers $5.1 billion.
Farm Bill Polls
New public opinion polls in Colorado, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington state show that subsidy cuts and more conservation spending would improve the public's view of Congress.
- Press release
- Poll results for
- Virginia [PDF] and
Conference Committee Recommendations
The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) and Environmental Defense have released a series of Farm Bill conservation program assessments and recommendations to the House-Senate Conference Committee.
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program [PDF] (EQIP) recommendations
- Conservation Security Program [PDF] (CSP) recommendations
- Technical Assistance [PDF] (TA) for conservation programs recommendations
- Environmental Defense's Conservation Reserve Program [PDF] (CRP) recommendations
- Environmental Defense's Cooperative Conservation [PDF] recommendations
Report: Fairness on the Farm
A new Environmental Defense report, Fairness on the Farm [PDF], shows that 37 states would receive between $1 million and $33 million more in annual federal support if some direct payments subsidies were shifted to conservation funding.
These USDA voluntary conservation programs help farmers provide cleaner air, cleaner water, and wildlife habitat and protect farmland from development.