Izaak Walton League Calls For Three Conservation Priorities in 2012 Farm Bill (6/5/12)
Contacts:
Cathryn
Kennedy, 612-309-3951, cathryn@cathrynkennedy.com
Pam
McCarthy Kern, 612-360-0647, pam@cathrynkennedy.com
NEWS RELEASE:
For Release: June 5,
2012
Izaak Walton League Calls For Three Conservation Priorities in 2012 Farm Bill
Crop Insurance, Sodsaver, and Conservation Investments Top the List
Gaithersburg, MD – The Izaak Walton League
of America (IWLA), a national conservation
organization with chapters in more than 250
communities nationwide, calls on Congress to
include three conservation priorities in the
2012 Farm Bill.
In its
report –
The 2012 Farm Bill: Stewardship,
Prosperity, and Fairness – released today, the League
identifies top priorities that will help keep
America’s lakes and rivers clean, save soil
for future food production, conserve habitat
for fish and wildlife, and ensure national farm
policy is fiscally
responsible.
The Izaak Walton
League urges Congress to include these critical
measures in the 2012 Farm Bill:
- Stewardship Agreements for Crop Insurance: Re-establish the connection between subsidies for federal crop insurance premiums and basic conservation provisions to protect wetlands and sensitive soils.
- Sodsaver Initiative: Enact a nationwide Sodsaver provision to prohibit federal farm program and crop insurance subsidies for native land converted to crop production.
- Conservation Investments: Maintain the unique functions of current Farm Bill conservation programs, establish continuing baseline budgets for core conservation functions, and oppose funding cuts for mandatory conservation programs in annual appropriations bills.
“Over the next few weeks, Congress will
make decisions on the 2012 Farm Bill that will
affect natural resources, fish and wildlife,
and taxpayers across the country for years to
come,” says Jim Madsen, national president of
the Izaak Walton League of America. “The
report we’re releasing today makes
common-sense policy recommendations that will
conserve our nation’s natural heritage,
protect taxpayers from wasteful spending, and
support sustainable, productive, and profitable
agriculture
nationwide.”
Stewardship
Agreements for Crop Insurance
At
the top of the League’s priorities is
reinstating stewardship agreements for farmers
receiving subsidies for federal crop insurance
premiums. Every Farm Bill program except crop
insurance includes requirements for stewardship
agreements (also known as conservation
compliance). Under conservation compliance,
producers agree to implement basic conservation
practices to reduce soil erosion and protect
wetlands and water quality when producers
voluntarily accept support payments from
taxpayers. However, in 1996, Congress exempted
crop insurance payments from conservation
compliance.
“As a retired
farmer, I know all too well how important it is
to have a safety net when a natural disaster
wipes out a crop,” says Jim Caligiuri, a
retired farmer from Iowa and chairman the
League’s Agriculture Resources Committee.
“I also know that it makes sense for
taxpayers to expect conservation benefits like
clean water for the support they provide to
farmers. It should be no different with
subsidies for crop insurance premiums –
Congress needs to restore the connection
between conservation compliance and crop
insurance.”
Since Congress
severed the connection between crop insurance
and conservation compliance, enrollment in crop
insurance – and the cost to taxpayers – has
skyrocketed. The League’s new report notes
that more than 260 million acres of farmland
are enrolled in the federal crop insurance
program, and federal subsidies for crop
insurance premiums grew from $500 million per
year in the 1980s to more than $7.4 billion in
2011.
Current market conditions
and changes in other federal farm policies make
re-establishing this connection even more
important today. For example, the Farm Bill
adopted by the Senate Agriculture Committee in
April eliminates traditional farm support
programs, such as direct payments, that include
conservation compliance. As these programs are
eliminated and crop insurance subsidies become
the primarily means by which taxpayer support
is provided to producers, it is critical to
ensure the public receives conservation
benefits in return. The League’s proposal
accomplishes this common-sense
goal.
Sodsaver
Initiative
The proposed Sodsaver
initiative is designed to strengthen Farm Bill
conservation goals by prohibiting federal
subsidies for native land that is converted to
agricultural production if that land has no
prior cropping history. Native grasslands are
among the most threatened natural resource in
the country, and conserving them supports the
ranching economy, reduces soil erosion and
nutrient runoff, and provides essential habitat
for waterfowl and wildlife. Sodsaver will not
prevent landowners from making decisions about
how to use their land, but it will ensure that
taxpayers no longer subsidize potentially
destructive actions on America’s remaining
native lands.
A Sodsaver provision
was incorporated in the Farm Bill passed by the
Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26. This
measure encourages farmers to protect native
grasslands and pasturelands by reducing crop
insurance premium subsidies by 50 percentage
points if lands that have never been tilled are
put into
production.
Conservation
Investments
The League report also
notes that the 2012 Farm Bill will likely
include significant cuts in conservation
funding as part of a broader effort to reduce
government spending. Yet these programs should
not bear the brunt of federal budget-cutting
efforts. Farm Bill conservation programs have
successfully restored water quality, wetlands,
soils, and other natural resources, benefitting
communities nationwide. To achieve these
results in the future, the Izaak Walton League
urges Congress to “maintain our investments
in conservation not only in the Farm Bill
itself but in every budget approved by
Congress.”
Visit the League’s
Web site at www.iwla.org/2012FarmBill
for a complete copy of the report and more
information about Farm Bill conservation
priorities.
About the
Izaak Walton League of
America
Founded in 1922, the Izaak
Walton League is one of the nation's oldest and
most respected conservation organizations. With
a grassroots network of more than 250 local
chapters nationwide, the League takes a
common-sense approach toward protecting the
nation’s natural heritage and improving
outdoor recreation opportunities for all
Americans.