 Over the next two years, Congress has a great opportunity
to change the direction of federal farm programs to help farmers
meet environmental and economic challenges, instead of handicapping
them in their struggle. Every five years, Congress passes a massive
"Farm Bill" that guides farm spending for the next half decade. With
the next Farm Bill due up in 2002, Members of Congress are already
debating what it should look like. Congress has budgeted $22 billion
per year, meaning more than $100 billion is at stake. We believe
that conservation should be the core of the next Farm Bill. At least
half of the Farm Bill funds should help farmers meet environmental
challenges and reward them for protecting water quality and wildlife
habitat instead of handicapping them.
 Here are some of the things Congress could do:
Reward
Green Farmers - Federal farm programs should reward farmers who
implement land use practices reduce polluted runoff, provide habitat
for wildlife, or help combat climate change.
Create
Incentives for Better Manure Management - Federal farm programs
should create incentives for new manure management technologies to
help small dairy, hog, beef, and poultry farmers address problems
with excess manure and to generate new income.
Ensure
Public Health - Federal farm programs should help interested
farmers ensure public health by helping them to reduce the use of
pesticides and make the transition from conventional to organic
farming while boosting markets.
Save
Rare Species and Their Habitat - Federal farm programs should
create incentives for farmers to protect and create habitat for
endangered and threatened species.
Protect
Fragile Farmland and Restore Habitat - Federal farm programs
should acquire easements from farmers with environmentally sensitive
farmland, including land threatened by sprawl.
Help
Family Farmers and Rural Communities - Federal farm programs
should help small farmers and rural communities by discouraging
overproduction, which contributes to low crop prices, and by helping
farmers develop markets for high value goods produced in
environmentally friendly ways.
Preserve
and Enhance Privately Owned Forest - Federal farm programs
should preserve and enhance the natural resource values of private
forests through easements and other conservation measures.
Working
Lands Stewardship Act of 2001 would help protect the
environment, public health, and rural communities.
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