Ag Policy Blog

Conservation Programs Drawing Some Attention

Chris Clayton
By  Chris Clayton , DTN Ag Policy Editor
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The importance of USDA conservation programs in the farm bill will draw some attention in the coming days as Ducks Unlimited plays a role in elevating the topic.

Ducks Unlimited will hold a press conference with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and then take part in a Farm Foundation forum the following day.

Principal negotiators for the farm bill have battled over other topics and largely see agreement on changes to conservation programs. Within the House and Senate versions of the legislation, there is roughly $130 million per year in potential spending differences. Time is running short with the House pushing to adjourn Dec. 13 and the Senate planning to do the same a week later.

On Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Dale Hall, CEO of Ducks Unlimited, will hold a press conference specifically to discuss the need for a farm bill to "continue record conservation efforts achieved in recent years by producers and landowners in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)," a press advisory stated.

Vilsack will stress that a farm bill helps farmers and ranchers "to protect the soil, water and air, safeguard wildlife habitat, and mitigate the impacts of a changing climate."

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On Wednesday, Farm Foundation will hold a forum at the National Press Club in Washington to discuss the future of federal conservation programs. As Farm Foundation stated in a news release, Bruce Knight, former USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, will lead the discussion with Eric Lindstrom, who works on wetlands and water conservation at Ducks Unlimited. North Dakota farmer Don Bauman also will explain the role of conservation in his farming operation, Marcus Maier of the Indian Creek Watershed will discuss how the project in Illinois used federal programs to achieve its water conservation goals.

For people who are interested, the forum will be audio cast. http://www.farmfoundation.org/…

Conservation programs started with a budget baseline of $62 billion over 10 years, roughly 6.3% of total spending in the farm bill. Both bills cut from that base line.

The Senate version of the bill would spend $58.5 billion over 10 years while the House would spend about 57.2 billion.

So far, the big debate on conservation has been more about whether farmers should have to meet minimum compliance standards to receive crop insurance premium subsidies. Under current law, farmers have to meet minimum compliance for commodity programs, but insurance is exempt. The Senate reattaches minimum conservation compliance to insurance as well.

As for program changes in conservation, here are details from a recent Congressional Research Service report on the farm bill.

In the Conservation Reserve Program, the Senate would lower the acreage cap on the program to 25 million acres while the House would drop it to 24 million acres. Tthe 2008 farm bill authorized 32 million acres, but program enrollment is down to about 25.6 million acres now.

CRP would also be expanded to enroll grassland acres. The Senate bill allows for 1.5 million while the House would allow 2 million. Thus, the Grassland Reserve Program would be repealed.

The Conservation Stewardship Program would also have its annual enrollment cap lowered. Currently, the cap is 12.77 million acres each year in new acres. The Senate sets a cap at 10.35 million acres while the House would set the CSP enrollment at just under 8.7 million acres annually.

Under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Senate would trim nearly $1 billion while the House would maintain current funding levels, which is roughly $1.75 billion annually.

Beyond the big three programs, both bills also create new easement programs and new programs for regional partnerships. Much of that is done to help consolidate several smaller programs into two larger umbrellas. The big new acronym will be RCPP -- Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Several regional programs will be effectively turned into RCPPs, which are effectively multi-state jurisdictional conservation efforts such as the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes programs.

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Comments

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Curt Zingula
12/3/2013 | 5:26 AM CST
I've always wondered why government, with its regulation mentality, didn't just enhance conservation by rule rather than expensive programs? Perhaps these program cuts are setting the stage?
Bonnie Dukowitz
12/3/2013 | 5:02 AM CST
A question on the numbers. 6.3% of the Food Bill is spent on conservation. Of that amount, how much goes to investers and large, private-non-profit organizations? With the 6.3%, does that not leave about 15.7% for the actual food production and administrative portion of the program? I am not opposed to good stewership and conservation practices.