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Senate Approach Would Speed Payments to North Dakota Farmers for Farmland Conservation
Fate of Funding Hangs on Key Farm Bill Negotiations
North 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 $16 million in unfunded applications from North 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 North Dakota
Cleaner Rivers and Lakes: In North Dakota, 91.4 percent of surveyed rivers and streams and 76.6 percent of surveyed lakes have been classified as impaired. Of this, agricultural pollution is a significant cause.
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 North Dakota farmers adopt practices to reduce the level of sedimentation, nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into North Dakota waters. The current backlog of EQIP funding in North Dakota is $14 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 North Dakota watersheds. Although soil loss is declining, North Dakota still loses approximately 123 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 North Dakota, 5 percent of shallow wells, failed to meet the EPA nitrate threshold. Pesticide use in North Dakota is 18 million pounds per year and nitrate use is 509,000 tons per year. Through USDA technical assistance and EQIP, North Dakota farmers could implement practices to reduce the use of these chemicals and prevent them from contaminating North Dakota's water bodies and source drinking water areas.
Protected Open Space and Working Landscapes: Every year North Dakota loses an average of 48,000 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.
Enhanced Wildlife Habitat: North Dakota farmland is home to many species of game and non-game wildlife, including deer, turkey, ring-necked pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, moose, elk, pronghorn and prairie dog. Although North Dakota farmers have enrolled over 2.5 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. North Dakota farmers volunteered to enroll 5,655 acres in the WRP under 30 year easements last year. At least $2.5 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. Currently, 40 applications from farmers and ranchers totaling $265,000 are unfunded in North 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 North Dakota producers are moving towards organic production, with 89,000 acres of farmland and 2,209 acres of rangeland now growing organically. Since organic food is one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. food industry, North 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 North Dakota farmers who want to switch to organic farming.
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