Maximizing Conservation Effects in the Next Farm Bill (original) (raw)
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Losing Ground: A Clarion Call for Farm Bill Reform to Ensure a Food Secure Future
Soil and water are inextricably related, a fragile and complex system upon which agriculture and, in turn, our species, depend. Yet we tend to regard this relationship and its criticality in the singular dimension of drought, hindering progress in policy and law to improve agricultural sustainability. Without necessary policy reforms designed to protect the delicate balance between soil health, water conservation, and agricultural yield, we are foreclosing a food secure future for our nation. America’s agriculture and farm policy, as embodied in the Farm Bill, has devastated natural resources and, thereby, nature. Single resource advocacy and land management, such as water or soil conservation, fails to address this systems-based challenge, which is inextricably tied to the farm bill safety net. American agriculture, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), commands the majority of the land mass of the lower forty-eight states. Agriculture is, by far, the biggest consumer of fresh water, all while hemorrhaging top soil and draining wetlands, creating a vicious cycle perpetuating heavy commercial inputs. In order to address the system of resource misuse we reinforce through law and policy, we must first understand the pressures and policies that shape the American food and agriculture system. Then, we must renegotiate society’s benefits and priorities afforded to the agricultural sector with policy changes at the nexus of water, soil, and safety net. This rebalancing is absolutely critical if we have any hope of fostering resilient food and agriculture systems in the face of climate change, population growth, and scarce natural resources. Given its pervasive environmental harm, American agriculture is one of the last horizons of environmental law. The point of this article is not to vilify agricultural producers, but to leverage society’s renewed interest in food to create a clear-eyed dialogue regarding how to address these harms while ensuring food security for the nation and economic security for those who produce our food. One of the pillars of this dialogue must be a hard look at the so-called farm safety net and its relationship to our national policy regarding environmental stewardship and agriculture: the conservation title (“Title II”) of the Farm Bill. Unfamiliar to most environmental advocates, the conservation title is a suite of federal programs implemented by the USDA, providing billions of dollars in federal funds to agricultural producers to improve conservation outcomes on agricultural lands. In other words, the American taxpayer largely shoulders the burden of environmental measures on private “working” lands. This Article argues that in order to provide for a food secure future, we must renegotiate the Farm Bill’s safety net so that it works in concert with conservation policies by supporting production that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.
Conservation Trends in Agriculture Reflect Policy, Technology, and Other Factors
2019
The ERS report Agricultural Resource and Environment Indicators, 2019 provides a comprehensive source of data and analysis on the factors that affect resource use and quality in American agriculture. These factors include the biophysical characteristics of the farm and landscape, policy options and incentives for conservation, and availability of technology and other inputs. For example, USDA conservation programs provide nearly $6 billion annually for financial and technical assistance to support the adoption of conservation practices on U.S. farms. One such program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), focuses its funding on five conservation practices—cover crops, conservation tillage/residue management, conservation crop rotation, terraces and nutrient management.
Prime agricultural land protection: Washington State's experience
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 1986
To advance the science and art of good land use Features 68 Viewpoint: Is prof essiona I i s m rea I I y definable? Daniel A. Poole outlines what personal and group commitments are required to earn the label of "professional" 70 Conservation targeting: Success or failure? James Nielson evaluates the targeting approach to soil conservation and offers 10 recommendations for improvement 77 The conservation reserve: Pot en t ial impacts and problems David E. Ervin and Melvin G. Blase assess what the new conservation reserve may mean for soil and water conservation 81 A state and federal partnership for soil and wild1 if e conservation Robert D. Miller, David L. Urich, and Russell C. Mills describe a Missouri effort to link on-farm soil conservation with wildlife habitat improvement goals 85 Water quality and the new farm policy initiatives Clayton W. Ogg and Harry 6. Pionke discuss what impacts some of the conservation provisions in the new farm bill might have on water quality management 89 Prime agricultural land protection: Washington State's experience John P. Reganold reviews the diversity of programs used in one state to keep top-grade farmland in crop production 93 Commentary: Pinch me, I must be dreaming! Ken Cook offers a firsthand look at the evolution of the conservation title in the new farm bill 94 Commentary: The soil conservation imperative: Past versus present Melville H. Cohee opines why more progress has not been made in soil and water conservation
Enhancing the Farm Bill's Conservation Potential Through Land Prioritization
Journal of Wildlife Management, 2009
The Farm Bill conservation programs serve as the primary tools for the creation and improvement of wildlife habitat on working lands. Wildlife conservation would benefit from a working land-prioritization system that integrates these programs. We developed a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based system to prioritize land for inclusion in Farm Bill conservation programs. We designed the system to be applicable throughout the United States, to minimize potential conflicts of interest, and to facilitate simple implementation. We designated high conservation value (HCV) lands using habitats of greatest conservation need. We placed priority zones around HCV lands to determine high-and low-priority working lands. Nationwide implementation of this system would require gathering and manipulating data from multiple sources, as well as creation of a GIS layer denoting locations of working lands currently in conservation programs. This system would allow funding to be maximized through the ability to select participation based on property location and size, and to target landowners for participation. The wide-ranging potential benefits of this system make it well-suited for serving as the backbone to conservation on working
Agricultural conservation policy at a crossroads
Agricultural and resource economics …, 1998
US agricultural conservation policy has focused on a range of potential policy instruments centered on voluntary approaches tied into Depression-era commodity programs. Entering the twenty-first century, conservation policy is at a crossroads between more coercive ...
American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 1994
A viable agricultural policy should adapt to any changes occurring within the agricultural sector. With the growing focus on environmentally friendly agriculture, increased role for markets by reducing the influence of farm programs, agricultural-related global climate change, and budgetary pressures, the 1995 Farm Bill can lead the reorienting of farm policies toward achieving these goals and thus preserve the leadership role of the U.S. agricultural sector. The 1995 Farm Bill should enable farmers to retain their competitive edge in the increasingly free global market and also should protect the environment and rural communities. This paper identified key issues and the available options for the upcoming Farm Bill discussions.