Farm Conservation Funding Slashed in Final Conference Package

Environmental Defense
Wednesday, 20 March 2002

Environmental Defense today criticized an agreement between House and Senate farm bill negotiators to limit conservation spending to $17.1 billion.

"We're surprised that this agreement ignores the needs of farmers and ranchers in the Northeast, Northwest, Florida and California," said Environmental Defense senior attorney Tim Searchinger.

"Senate negotiators have cut the programs that benefit the public and most family farmers in order to give billions more to the country's largest cotton and grain farmers," said Environmental Defense agricultural expert Scott Faber. "I guess $120 billion divided mostly among a few thousand large cotton and grain producers is just not enough."

While the original Senate farm bill included $21.3 billion in new spending for voluntary U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs, negotiators today reached final agreement on spending levels which included only $1.1 billion more than the $16 billion House farm bill figure.

Under the agreement, farmers who grow feed grains, cotton and rice would receive 70% of farm bill funds even though they represent just 30% of the nation's farmers. Data from the Department of Agriculture indicates that two thirds of these funds go to only 3% of the nation's farms.

"The agreement squanders an enormous opportunity to help the environment," said Searchinger. "Because of this approach, thousands of rivers will remain polluted, millions of acres of farm and ranchland will be lost to sprawl and many endangered species will lose a chance of recovery."

Environmental Defense had urged House and Senate negotiators to focus more new spending on existing conservation programs such as the Wetlands Reserve Program, which pays farmers to restore lost wetlands and faces a 500,000 acre backlog. Nationally, farmers face a $4 billion conservation backlog when they apply to existing USDA programs to help the environment.

"We should focus conservation funds on proven programs that help farmers take new steps to help the environment," said Searchinger.

Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization based in New York, represents more than 300,000 members. Since 1967 we have linked science, economics, and law to create innovative, equitable, and cost-effective solutions to the most urgent environmental problems.

For more information, or to contact Environmental Defense, see their website at: www.edf.org