Copyright 2002 The Tribune Co. Publishes The Tampa Tribune Tampa Tribune (Florida)
March 21, 2002, Thursday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NATION/WORLD, Pg. 14
LENGTH: 298 words
HEADLINE: More
Farm Subsidies Are Bad News
BODY: An
effort is under way in Congress to divert money from conservation efforts to
provide more subsidies to Midwestern farmers.
Such a
move would waste tax dollars, undermine market forces and jeopardize natural
lands, particularly in Florida.
At issue is the Farm
Conservation Fund, which compensates farmers who set aside environmentally
valuable land. This is appropriate since the public benefits from such
stewardship.
Since Congress included a conservation
program in the 1985 farm bill, more than 36 million acres have
been set aside for conservation purposes. Biologists say this has been critical
to protecting many species, especially waterfowl.
But
Congress has cut back on the conservation effort in recent years. And this year
Midwestern interests are mounting a furious campaign to increase subsidies for
grain and soybean farmers. The additional payments would be taken from
conservation funding.
The proposed subsidy boost would
cause the nation to violate international trade agreements limiting agricultural
subsidies and thus would badly damage free trade efforts.
Paying for land preservation, in contrast, does not count against the
ceiling on subsidies.
The conservation funds can be
used to protect habitat, improve water quality, restore wetlands and buffer
farmland from development and are particularly important in states such as
Florida, where farms are being squeezed off the landscape by development.
Florida has $35 million in unmet requests for such funding.
Compensating farmers for preserving valuable resources has proved
effective, economical and just. Members of Congress should protect this worthy
conservation effort - and free trade - and resist the temptation to lavish tax
dollars on a few select farming interests.
Document 19 of 305. 