SIERRA CLUB CALLS ON CONGRESS TO REJECT FARM BILL CONFERENCE REPORT

Washington, DC: The Sierra Club today urged Members of Congress to oppose the conference committee's report on the Farm Bill, which encourages factory farms to increase their production and their pollution. It does far too little to help farmers safeguard wetlands, protect clean water and set aside areas for wildlife habitat. The House and Senate are expected to vote on the conference report later this week.

"This bill hands taxpayers the bill for cleaning up the mess made by giant, corporate-owned farms," said Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. "Instead of helping farmers, the farm bill conferees have turned the bill into more subsidies for polluting factory farms and rejected real conservation measures."

One of the conference report's worst provisions is a new subsidy for the livestock industry. Under the current Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), large livestock factories are ineligible for federal cost-sharing grants to manage animal manure. In contrast, the conference committee report allows large livestock operators to receive $450,000 in federal grants, a payment limit that is higher than in either the House or Senate version of the bill. These operators are typically contract growers for Tyson's, Smithfield Foods, Cargill, and the relatively small number of other companies that have come to dominate livestock production. The companies dictate how the animals are raised and provide the feed and drugs, while the contractors are left to manage the manure. Sixty percent of the $9 billion authorized for EQIP must be spent on the livestock industry.

"This Farm Bill transforms EQIP, a program that helps farmers protect drinking water, into a multi-billion dollar give away to a few industrial-type livestock companies," said Pope. "This gigantic subsidy encourages more manure cesspools, which have a long record of contaminating drinking water, killing fish, and making the stench of these factory farms unbearable for neighbors. It accelerates the consolidation of the livestock industry, harming family farmers and consumers. We urge Congress to reject this conference report."

In addition to subsidizing industrial livestock operations, the conference report also fails to put tough limits on payments on agricultural producers. "These largest producers will continue to overproduce and destroy habitat and water quality, while farmers who want to participate in voluntary conservation programs are turned away because the money is not there," Pope said.

The Sierra Club also thanked several legislators who supported stronger conservation provisions. "Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Paul Wellstone

(D-MN) and Representatives Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Ron Kind (D-WI) tried to make this a more balanced Farm Bill, and we appreciate their efforts," Pope concluded.