Sorry for the cross postings

ACTION ALERT

Calls Needed Now For
FAMILY FARMS and the ENVIRONMENT

Good News:
Right now, our nation's farm and conservation policies are being debated

and voted on in the U.S. Senate.  Up to this point, strong leadership by

Senate Agriculture Committee chairman  Tom Harkin of Iowa on
conservation issues has meant that a very good new approach towards
environmental stewardship on working farmlands has been moving forward
in the Senate.  Called the Conservation Security Act (CSA), this
component of the Farm Bill would reward farmers who care for the land by

paying for the public benefits (such as enhanced water quality, improved

soil conservation, and increased wildlife habitat) that good stewardship

farming produces.

Bad News:
However, in the past two days, the Conservation Security Act has come
under severe attack by Senators who want to switch funds that are
proposed to be spent on conservation (for example, the estimated $500
million per year for the CSA proposed by Senator Harkin) over to even
more "commodity program" payments   - taxpayers dollars- given for the
production of a handful of  " program crops"  basically corn, soybeans,
wheat, cotton, and rice.  Environmentally, the adverse effects of this
approach include more intensive row-cropping, reduced biodiversity and
higher chemical application rates and soil erosion rates.  Economically,

this excessive spending to maximize the production of a few crops means
lower crop prices, cheaper feed costs for factory farms, and the abuse
of taxpayer dollars by giving huge payments to the biggest farm
operators.   Commodity groups such as the National Pork Producers
Council and agribusiness corporations like Cargill support this
approach, but it is bad news for family farmers and for the
environment.  Farmers deserve a fair price for what they produce, but
more dollars for flawed commodity program payments won't do it.
Instead, we need conservation programs targeted to family farms, such as

the Conservation Security Act.

One other point:  proponents of factory farms are pushing for a change
in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).  They want EQIP
funds, which have been used by family farmers to improve the
environmental performance of their farms, to be used for subsidizing the

construction of new factory farms and waste lagoons – all in the name
of
the environment!  More money for factory farm expansion, less for family

farm stewardship is a bad idea.


Take Action:  Call TODAY!

Call Senator Harkin (in D. C. at 202-224-3254) and tell him to keep up
the fight for
a strong and well-funded Conservation Security Act.  Tell him you don't
support EQIP funds going for factory farms!

We expect the Farm Bill will go before the entire Senate right after it
passes out
of committee, so calls to all Senators are very important.  We need
strong policies enacted that protect the environment and support family
farms, not factory farms.

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