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Senate Approach Would Speed Payments to South Dakota Farmers for Farmland Conservation
Fate of Funding Hangs on Key Farm Bill Negotiations
South Dakota’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 $17 million in unfunded applications from South Dakota 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 South Dakota
Cleaner Rivers and Lakes: In South Dakota, 63.8 percent of surveyed rivers and streams and 84 percent of surveyed lakes have been classified as impaired. Of this, agricultural pollution causes 44.7 percent of impaired river miles and 74.2 percent of impaired lake acres. In short, agriculture causes the most nonpoint source pollution in South Dakota.
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 South Dakota farmers adopt practices to reduce the level of sedimentation, nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into South Dakota waters. The current backlog of EQIP funding in South Dakota is $16 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 South Dakota watersheds. Although soil loss is declining, South Dakota still loses approximately 57 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 South Dakota, 12 drinking water systems serving 1,170 people exceeded EPA's nitrate threshold from 1995 through 2000. And 7 percent of shallow wells, failed to meet the EPA threshold as well. Pesticide use in South Dakota is 16 million pounds per year and nitrate use is 314,000 tons per year. Through USDA technical assistance and EQIP, South Dakota farmers could implement practices to reduce the use of these chemicals and prevent them from contaminating South Dakota's water bodies and source drinking water areas.
Enhanced Wildlife Habitat: South Dakota farmland is home to many species of game and non-game wildlife, including deer, turkey, pheasant, elk, antelope, grouse and prairie dogs. Although South Dakota farmers have enrolled over 1.5 million 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. South Dakota farmers volunteered to enroll 1,321 acres in the WRP last year in permanent protection and another 243 acres under 30 year easements. At least $926,000 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. Currently, 94 applications from farmers and ranchers totaling $529,000 are unfunded in South Dakota. 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 South Dakota producers are moving towards organic production, with 27,000 acres of farmland and 5,701 acres of rangeland now growing organically. Since organic food is one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. food industry, South Dakota 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 South Dakota farmers who want to switch to organic farming.
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