Money, Money, Money…Money

tpache — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:38:54 +0000

Most things really do come down to money. Conserving and restoring the Great Lakes is one more example that this adage bares truth. The Farm Bill is up for reauthorization – the outcome of the Senate’s deliberations will be in effect for the next half decade – and it is critical that the program that helps Great Lakes farmers conserve land, farm wisely and protect the health of the lakes gets additional funding.

In the past, farmers who have wanted to participate in the conservation program that improves water quality and restores wildlife habitats that supports an $18 billion hunting and fishing industry, have been turned away empty handed due to insufficient funds. Well, it’s looking like the farmers may see more of the same. There is only so much money to go around and the Senate Agriculture Committee, feeling strangled by dangling purse strings, has moved away from the House-approved bill that would provide nearly $5 billion in additional funds for this program. Instead Senators are considering siphoning $2 billion off to other uses and shorting the in-demand program.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is politely wrangling with committee members in an attempt to incorporate their ideas into the bill and ensure swift passage when it hits the floor. Reportedly, Harkin favors reducing direct payments to farmers as a way to pay for more conservation programs, but this isn’t a super popular idea among lawmakers.

It is essential that Congress fund this successful program. Here are some steps you can take to help push through the much needed funding.

Call the Senate switchboard (202)224-3121 and ask for your Senator’s office, then ask for the staff person working on the farm bill and request at least $5 billion in additional funding for the Conservation Programs. For more info on what you can say or do click here.

Great Lakes Restoration and the Farm Bill

Jordan Lubetkin — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 20:36:20 +0000

As the U.S. Congress prepares to rewrite some of the nation’s most successful conservation programs, those contained in the Farm Bill, the Healing Our Waters coalition has released a new report urging lawmakers to expand and fully fund programs in the bill that are essential in the effort to restore the Great Lakes. Farm Bill programs provide farmers with funding and technical assistance to restore and protect wildlife habitat, which supports the regional $18 billion annual hunting, fishing and wildlife watching industry. The programs also restore wetlands and other habitat that serves to filter pesticides, fertilizers and sediment out of water that millions of Great lakes residents depend on for drinking, bathing, fishing, and swimming. Yet, as the new report makes clear, more than 1,000 Great Lakes farmers who want to enroll more than 117,000 acres in one of the Farm Bill’s most successful programs – the Wetland Reserve Program – are turned away every year due to lack of funding.

The report, “Cultivating Restoration: How Farm Bill Conservation Programs Help Heal Our Great Lakes,” comes as the U.S. Congress considers renewing legislation that will set the tone for national conservation funding priorities for the next five years.

Cultivating Restoration report

Healing Our Waters Coalition » Farm Bill

Money, Money, Money…Money

Great Lakes Restoration and the Farm Bill