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JOHANNS HIGHLIGHTS USDA'S 2007 FARM BILL PROPOSALS FOR CONSERVATION
WASHINGTON, April 10, 2007 - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today
highlighted the Administration's farm bill proposals related to conservation.
Johanns pointed out that a key theme throughout the conservation title is
simplification and streamlining of programs, while increasing funding for
conservation by $7.8 billion over ten years.
"In the area of conservation, we heard during our Farm Bill Forums broad
acknowledgement of our successes, but also suggestions to make the programs more
user-friendly," said Johanns. "We are proposing to do just that and to bolster
our commitment to conservation through the largest increase in funding for any
title within our farm bill proposals."
Under current law, there are six cost-share programs, all of which have separate
eligibility requirements, sign-up periods, regulations and applications. They
include the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, the Ground and Surface Water
Conservation Program, the
Agricultural Management Assistance Program, Forest Land Enhancement Program,
and the Klamath Basin Program. The Administration proposes consolidating all six
into one program, under the EQIP umbrella, which can address multiple resource
issues. This would include a new Regional Water Enhancement Program. Funding for
this newly structured program would be increased by 30 percent or an additional
$4.25 billion over ten years.
The Regional Water Enhancement Program would allow producers to use a broad
range of conservation tools to address water quantity and/or quality issues on a
regional scale. Mandatory funding of $175 million annually would be available to
coordinate conservation solutions for working agricultural landscapes, including
crop, pasture, grazing and orchard lands.
The Administration proposal supports reauthorizing the
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) at its current acreage level. CRP would
continue to focus on retiring lands that provide the most significant
environmental benefits. However, priority would be given to the enrollment of
whole fields that qualify to produce perennial biomass crops for cellulosic
energy production. Continuous CRP enrollment and the Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program would also continue.
The Conservation
Security Program (CSP) would be simplified by creating two tiers of
conservation achievement instead of three. By removing base, maintenance, and
cost-share payments, CSP would be enhanced to only provide incentives for higher
levels of conservation practices. Under the proposal, CSP enrollment would
expand from 15.5 million acres to an estimated 96.5 million acres over ten
years. CSP would also be offered nationwide on an annual basis, instead of in
select watersheds. Funding for the program would increase $500 million over ten
years, which would take the program to $8.5 billion during FY 2008-2017.
The three existing easement programs for working lands—the Farm and Ranchland
Protection Program, the Healthy Forest Reserve Program, and the Grasslands
Reserve Program--would become one new Private Lands Protection Program with a
shared goal of protecting farmland and open space. Funding would be increased by
$900 million over ten years.
Conservation compliance provisions would be broadened to discourage the
conversion of grassland to crop production. Between 1982-2002 acreage in
non-Federal grasslands fell by 24 million acres. A 'Sod Saver' provision would
help retain private grass and rangelands by making its conversion to cropland
ineligible for farm price and income support, crop insurance, and certain other
USDA benefits.
The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) would be enhanced and expanded. The
enrollment cap would expand from 2.3 million acres to 3.5 million acres with an
annual goal of enrolling 250,000 acres. The easement function of the Emergency
Watershed Program and the WRP would be combined into one WRP. Mandatory funding
of more than $2 billion would be added to the program.
Likewise, the Emergency Watershed Protection Program and the Emergency
Conservation Program would become one new Emergency Landscape Restoration
Program. This would create a one-stop source for landowners and communities in
need of emergency conservation assistance following a catastrophic event.
To encourage participation in conservation programs by beginning and socially
disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, the Administration proposes designating 10
percent of conservation financial assistance to these groups. This will enable
beginning and socially disadvantaged producers, who typically farm smaller
acreages, to more effectively compete for conservation dollars.
Lastly, to spur the development of ecosystem service markets that would
establish a value for agriculture and forestry conservation practices, the
Administration would invest $50 million. These funds would be used to develop
uniform standards for quantifying environmental services, to establish credit
registries, and to offer credit audit and certification services. Ultimately
producers could earn credits for conservation efforts, which in turn could be
sold to achieve environmental goals such as sequestering carbon, protecting
endangered species and other measures that enhance the nation's environment.
The farm bill proposals released January 31 are based on comments and
suggestions received from farmers, ranchers and other stakeholders during 52
USDA Farm Bill Forums across the nation and received via mail and the Internet.
These proposals represent the final phase of a nearly two year process. To
access the full 183 page document or to access the proposals by title go to
www.USDA.gov/farmbill.
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