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Senate Approach Would Speed Payments to Illinois Farmers for Farmland Conservation
Fate of Funding Hangs on Key Farm Bill Negotiations
Illinois’s considerable – and growing – farmland conservation needs on private lands have gone chronically underfunded for years. That could all change as a handful of Senators and Representatives decide whether or not to adopt the Senate’s $4.3 billion annual investment in farmland conservation programs during final farm bill negotiations this month.
Currently, there is over $63 million in unfunded applications from Illinois farmers who want to implement conservation practices on their land that would protect farmland and enhance drinking water sources and wildlife habitat.
These programs, which pay farmers to take steps to boost conservation, provide a range of benefits to rural communities while boosting family farm incomes – particularly among smaller struggling family farm operations.
New analysis by EWG shows that the Senate’s approach to boosting funding for farmland conservation programs would immediately get much needed assistance to more farmers in the state than the House bill. In comparison, by waiting until 2007 to ramp up farmland conservation programs, the House bill would fail to meet the growing demand for farmers who want to reduce their farm’s impact on local rivers and streams, enhance wildlife habitat and prevent sprawl from consuming more farmland. And, the longer farmers and communities have to wait to enroll in conservation programs, the more expensive it will be for taxpayers to address conservation problems.
In short, adopting the Senate’s conservation strategy will help more farmers, provide benefits to society and save taxpayers money.
Meeting Environmental Challenges with Agriculture Conservation Programs in Illinois
Cleaner Rivers and Lakes: In Illinois, 44.9 percent of surveyed rivers and streams and 95.7 percent of surveyed lakes have been classified as impaired. Of this, agricultural pollution causes 38.6 percent of impaired river miles and 70.3 percent of impaired lake acres. In short, agriculture is the leading source of nonpoint source pollution in Illinois.
Thirty percent of the nutrient contamination in the Gulf of Mexico, where a "dead zone" exists because of excessive nutrients, originates from the Upper Midwest. Efforts to increase funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in the next farm bill would help more Illinois farmers adopt practices to reduce the level of sedimentation, nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into Illinois waters. The current backlog of EQIP funding in Illinois is $38 million. Increased funding for the Conservation Reserve Program, especially for grass and tree buffers near to water bodies, in the next farm bill would also help reduce agricultural pollutants in many Illinois watersheds. Although soil loss is declining, Illinois still loses approximately 96 million tons of soil per year from cropland. Through the CRP, farmers can retire highly erodible land without incurring economic costs.
Safer Drinking Water: In Illinois, 154 drinking water systems serving 170,912 people exceeded EPA's nitrate threshold from 1995 through 2000. And 12 percent of shallow wells, failed to meet the EPA threshold as well. Pesticides in water are also a concern, leading the state to install water-monitoring systems in potentially problematic areas. Pesticide use in Illinois is 49 million pounds per year and nitrate use is 910,000 tons per year. Through USDA technical assistance and EQIP, Illinois farmers could implement practices to reduce the use of these chemicals and prevent them from contaminating Illinois's water bodies and source drinking water areas.
Protected Open Space and Working Landscapes: Every year Illinois loses an average of 41,000 acres of prime farmland per year to development and suburban sprawl (USDA/NRI). Converting prime farmland to housing developments and parking lots means that it is lost for meeting future food needs as well as for open space. If the Farmland Protection Program was adequately funded in the next farm bill, it would help protect Illinois' natural resource base and open space for future generations.
Enhanced Wildlife Habitat: Illinois farmland is home to many species of game and non-game wildlife, including deer, elk, turkey, pheasant, rabbit and trout. Although Illinois farmers have enrolled over 658,000 acres in the Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs, lack of funding has created a backlog of farmers who want to enroll additional land in the programs. Illinois farmers volunteered to enroll 14,000 acres in the WRP last year in permanent protection and another 3,231 acres under 30 year easements. At least $25 million is needed to eliminate this backlog. Many more farmers are volunteering for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program to enhance wildlife habitat on their working farmland. Proposals to increase funding for these programs in the next farm bill would ensure that all farmers and ranchers who want to retire highly sensitive land for wildlife habitat or adopt new practices to create habitat can do so.
Healthier Food Supply: Many Illinois producers are moving towards organic production, with 11,000 acres of farmland now growing organically. Since organic food is one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. food industry, Illinois could create a healthier food supply and farm economy by increasing organic production. Proposals to include organic transition payments in the next Farm Bill would help those Illinois farmers who want to switch to organic farming.
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