MN Farmers Call for Greater Conservation
Security Program Investment in Peterson
Farm Bill Conference Proposal

CONTACT: Lyle Kruse, LSP member & farmer, 507-223-5039
Adam Warthesen, LSP organizer, 612-722-6377

2/14/08
CANBY, Minn. – Congressman Collin Peterson (D-MN), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, along with ranking member Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), yesterday announced a House 2008 Farm Bill Conference Proposal as part of the negotiations between Congressional leaders and the Bush Administration on U.S. farm policy. The proposal is a significant step towards what may become the next Farm Bill as critical policy deadlines approach in Congress.  

In an attempt to move pass the current gridlock between the Senate, House and Administration over the Farm Bill, the new proposal outlines policies and funding targets for the key areas of conservation, commodities, nutrition and rural development.

The “Conservation Title” in the proposal is dominated by increased funding for the $1 billion per year Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Under the proposal, critical programs such as the Conservation Security Program (CSP) receive limited funding or, in the instance of the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program, face reduced acre enrollments.

“My biggest concern is insufficient funding for the Conservation Security Program,” said Lyle Kruse, an LSP member who farms near Canby, Minn. In 2007, Kruse and other LSP member-farmers traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss conservation priorities with members of Congress. “This program will help farmers like me conserve America’s soil, water and wildlife habitat.”

CSP, originally passed in the 2002 Farm Bill, provides incentives for farmers and ranchers who produce measureable conservation outcomes on working farmland.  Many believe that, with the increased demand for farmland as a result of higher crop prices, CSP can provide a much-needed counterweight and help farmers maintain and build conservation on their working lands.

The House proposal received mixed reviews from farm groups and other members of Congress, but during a press conference Wednesday Peterson made it clear that this was a framework of what could be done, and not the final legislation.

“We need a balanced conservation title which supports stewardship for working farmland,” said Kruse. “The final Farm Bill needs to increase funding for CSP by at least $2 billion in the next five years.  This will give more farmers the chance to use this program and do good conservation on America’s farmland.”

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