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Contact: Tim Searchinger 202 387-3500
Scott Faber 202 387-3500
Environmental Defense today
criticized an agreement between House and Senate farm bill
negotiators to limit conservation spending to $17.1 billion.
"We're surprised that this agreement ignores the needs of farmers
and ranchers in the Northeast, Northwest, Florida and California,"
said Environmental Defense senior attorney Tim Searchinger.
"Senate negotiators have cut the programs that benefit the public
and most family farmers in order to give billions more to the
country's largest cotton and grain farmers," said Environmental
Defense agricultural expert Scott Faber. "I guess $120 billion
divided mostly among a few thousand large cotton and grain producers
is just not enough."
While the original Senate farm bill included $21.3 billion in new
spending for voluntary U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
conservation programs, negotiators today reached final agreement on
spending levels which included only $1.1 billion more than the $16
billion House farm bill figure.
Under the agreement, farmers who grow feed grains, cotton and
rice would receive 70% of farm bill funds even though they represent
just 30% of the nation's farmers. Data from the Department of
Agriculture indicates that two thirds of these funds go to only 3%
of the nation's farms.
"The agreement squanders an enormous opportunity to help the
environment," said Searchinger. "Because of this approach, thousands
of rivers will remain polluted, millions of acres of farm and
ranchland will be lost to sprawl and many endangered species will
lose a chance of recovery."
Environmental Defense had urged House and Senate negotiators to
focus more new spending on existing conservation programs such as
the Wetlands Reserve Program, which pays farmers to restore lost
wetlands and faces a 500,000 acre backlog. Nationally, farmers face
a $4 billion conservation backlog when they apply to existing USDA
programs to help the environment.
"We should focus conservation funds on proven programs that help
farmers take new steps to help the environment," said Searchinger.
### Environmental Defense, a leading national
nonprofit organization based in New York, represents more than
300,000 members. Since 1967 we have linked science, economics, and
law to create innovative, equitable, and cost-effective solutions to
the most urgent environmental problems. | 
