The Farm Bill & you

This article first appeared in INHF's Spring 2007 Magazine.

by Duane Sand

Whether or not you farm, the 2007 Farm Bill will touch your life.

This federal legislation will allocate billions of taxpayer dollars for critical public goods: a safe and sustainable food supply, healthy rural economies, clean water, soil conservation, energy and our very landscape—not to mention the landscape we leave for future generations.

Now is the time to educate yourself about the 2007 Farm Bill and then make your voice heard.

Ethanol boom
While previous farm bills provided commodity subsidies and production control to prop up low corn prices, ethanol substantially changes the playing field.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association reports that almost three billion gallons of annual ethanol production capacity are now operating or under construction in the state—with much more on the drawing boards. This added competition has led to high corn prices, high land prices and a near-record number of acres planted to corn in 2007.

But is it sustainable? What about environmentally sensitive areas that should not be cropped? Something will have to give, so let’s not bet the farm or our environment on short-term gains.

Conservation bust?
Iowa, with more than 1.8 million acres contracted, has led the nation in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments. By compensating farmers who convert environmentally sensitive land from row crops to perennials, CRP has helped reduce erosion, protect water quality and provide wildlife habitat. As land competition drives up rents, many farmers are opting to let their CRP contracts expire and plant the land to corn.

Finding a balance
In this new ethanol economy, the 2007 Farm Bill should redesign, reform and reprioritize USDA programs. Here are some of our recommendations:

Target USDA funds to protect and manage priority agricultural lands where ecological restoration and permanent protection will provide the greatest public benefit.

Set a CRP baseline year that becomes the minimum amount of federal protected acres for each state, aided by the following rule changes:

Abandon cropping history as eligibility criteria for CRP in high-rent states.
Convert CRP contracts to permanent protections, such as conservation easements.
Consider future threats. For example, protect degraded woodlands by removing grazing rights, development rights and chipping rights for future cellulose production. Protect fragile grazing lands with permanent easements that prevent conversion to cropland.
Fully support the Conservation Security Program to rewardstewardship of working lands.

The 2007 Farm Bill will have long-lasting consequences for all Iowans—ourselves and “for those who follow.” Let’s get it right!

Duane Sand is a public policy consultant to INHF.

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.