Environmental Groups Applaud New Harkin Farm Bill

Environmental Defense and Environmental Working Group today applauded Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) for increasing average annual U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation funding to $4.4 billion in a revised Farm Bill reintroduced this week.

“Senator Harkin’s revised Farm Bill will reward farmers and ranchers when they help improve water quality, restore wildlife habitat, and serve as the frontline against suburban sprawl,” said Environmental Defense water resources specialist Scott Faber. “But it also recognizes that while farmers and ranchers are willing to do their part to meet environmental challenges, good stewards face new costs or lost income when they take steps to help the environment.”

“More than half of farmers and ranchers are now turned away when they apply for conservation assistance because these popular programs have not been funded. Thanks to the leadership of Senator Harkin, these stewards of the land will no longer be denied access to USDA assistance,” said Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook.

In particular, the new Harkin Farm Bill will provide:

• $350 million annually on average for the Farmland Protection Program, which acquires development rights from willing farmers and ranchers threatened by sprawl;

• $1.2 billion annually on average for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which shares the cost of efforts to improve water quality;

• $270 million annually on average for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, including a new focus on habitat restoration for endangered species;

• A new program to work with farmers and ranchers to lease, transfer, or acquire water rights on 1.1 million acres of land, to help endangered fish and wildlife; and,

• Sufficient funding to annually restore 250,000 acres of wetlands nationwide.

  A similar effort to boost conservation funding in the House by Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI), Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), and John Dingell (D-MI) came closer than expected in an October vote, boosting Senate reform prospects.

  Because all farmers and ranchers are eligible for conservation funds, the Harkin’s revised Farm Bill also makes farm policy more regionally equitable - but will boost funding available to small and medium-sized farms in every state, including his own. Under current spending, only certain agricultural products are eligible for traditional income support payments. Consequently, farmers in 15 commodity-crop states receive 75% of all USDA spending, while large farm states such as New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and California receive very little USDA funds.