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Senate Approach Would Speed Payments to California Farmers for Farmland Conservation
Fate of Funding Hangs on Key Farm Bill Negotiations
California’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 $123 million in unfunded applications from California 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 California
Cleaner Rivers and Lakes: In California, 80.9 percent of surveyed rivers and streams and 71 percent of surveyed lakes have been classified as impaired. Of this, agricultural pollution causes 22.7 percent of impaired river miles and 5.4 percent of impaired lake acres. In short, agriculture is a leading cause of nonpoint source pollution in California.
Efforts to increase funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in the next farm bill would help more California farmers adopt practices to reduce the level of sedimentation, nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into California waters. The current backlog of EQIP funding in California is $35 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 California watersheds. Although soil loss is declining, California still loses approximately 11 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 California, 103 drinking water systems serving 1,183,239 people exceeded EPA's nitrate threshold from 1995 through 2000. And 15 percent of shallow wells, failed to meet the EPA threshold as well. Pesticide use in California is 166 million pounds per year and nitrate use is 639,000 tons per year. Through USDA technical assistance and EQIP, California farmers could implement practices to reduce the use of these chemicals and prevent them from contaminating California's water bodies and source drinking water areas.
Protected Open Space and Working Landscapes: America's most profitable agriculture takes place near population centers. More than half of the value of American agricultural production comes from counties in and around urban areas. Every year, California 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. Presently, there is a backlog of farmers wanting to enroll 3,502 acres into the Farmland Protection Program -- a program that should be adequately funded in the next farm bill to help protect our natural resource base and our open space for future generations. These funds would double the amount of funding the state is already putting on the table to protect farmland through its California Farmland Conservancy Program.
Enhanced Wildlife Habitat: California farmland is home to many species of game and non-game wildlife, including deer, turkey, bald eagle, Sandhill cranes, mink, bear and the endangered California condor. California is second only to Hawaii in endangered and threatened species listed in the state. Although California farmers have enrolled over 227,000 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. California farmers volunteered to enroll 50,000 acres in the WRP last year in permanent protection and another 7,204 acres under 30 year easements. At least $85 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 California producers are moving towards organic production, with 97,000 acres of farmland and 5,968 acres of rangeland now growing. Since organic food is one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. food industry, California 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 California farmers who want to switch to organic farming.
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