Forwarded for your enjoyment are the Sierra Club press release about today's
(2/13/02) passage of the Senate Farm Bill and a MSAWG memo about the contents
of the bill.  Please let Senators Harkin and Grassley know that we appreciate
their votes and hard work.

SIERRA CLUB CLEAN WATER, CLEAN FARMING NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2002

CONTACT:
Brett Hulsey, 608-257-4994


             SENATE PROTECTS FAMILY FARMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT


Washington, DC- The Sierra Club today praised the Senate for approving
the
Senate Farm Bill, championed by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Paul
Wellstone
(D-MN) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) as a major improvement over the House bill
and current law.  The Senate Farm Bill would provide more money to help
farmers safeguard clean water, protect wetlands, and prevent suburban
sprawl.  Senator Harkin's legislation would double funding for
conservation
programs, which the House Farm Bill sorely neglected.

"The House turned its back on family farmers, ranchers, and clean water
but
we are grateful to the Senate and Senator Harkin for working to protect
us," said Bob Warrick, a family rancher from Nebraska who chairs
the Sierra Club Agriculture Committee.  "While ironing out the
differences
in a conference committee, the House should adopt the Senate
conservation
measures."

Senator Harkin's bill would increase wetlands protected by the Wetlands
Reserve Program to 250,000 acres per year, 100,000 acres per year more
than
the House-passed bill.  Wetlands act as a filter to clean polluted
water,
protect against flooding and provide wildlife habitat.  Senator Harkin's
proposal would increase funding to protect farmland from suburban
sprawl,
boosting it to $250 million annually by the end of the five-year period.
The House bill authorizes only $50 million per year.  In addition, the
bill
incorporates a new provision, the Conservation Security Act, which
rewards
farmers who protect water, air, soil and wildlife.  It also provides for
an
important water conservation program, which will be crucial in
protecting
habitat in dry areas.

The Senate bill also makes major improvements over the House's provision
concerning animal waste.  Manure runoff from fields and leaky storage
pits
is a major source of water pollution. The House bill would provide
billions
of dollars in federal tax subsidies to large, industrial-scale livestock
operations controlled by major corporations.  In contrast, the Senate
bill
dedicates more money to smaller, family-sized livestock farmers, to help
them stop pollution by building manure management systems, thanks to an
amendment by Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone.

Shifting funds away from supporting overproduction of commodities and
toward meeting conservation needs would benefit the environment and
improve
the health of the agricultural economy.  Although this bill makes
improvements over current law and the House Farm Bill, it continues to
subsidize overproduction of commodities, which limits conservation
funding.
More money is still needed for conservation programs.

"We urge the House to adopt the Senate language to help farmers take
fragile land out of production, create buffer strips and take other
steps
to protect clean water and set aside areas for wildlife habitat," said
Brett Hulsey, Sierra Club Senior Midwest Representative.  "Farmers want
to
enroll more than 12 million acres in voluntary conservation programs but
the money is not there."

                    # # #

The Farm Bill has passed in the Senate by a vote of 58-40.  Your senators'
votes are below.

Thanks to your OUTSTANDING work, in the Senate Bill we have won:

--  The Conservation Security Program that rewards all types of farmers and
ranchers from throughout the nation for their good stewardship of working
land.

--  Reasonable limitations on payments to any single farmer or rancher.

--  Prohibition against packer ownership of livestock.

--  Important value-added marketing and rural microenterprise development
programs for family farmers and ranchers and rural communities.

--  A new beginning farmer and rancher program.

--  Protections for farmers and ranchers against the use of abusive contracts
by big industry.

--  Choice for farmers and ranchers as to how they resolve disputes with big
industry.

--  Assurance that taxpayer support for livestock operations through the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program is targeted to cost-effective
environmental benefits on independent farms and ranches.


VOTE TO PASS SENATE FARM BILL AS AMENDED
ILLINOIS
Durbin-yes
Fitzgerald-yes

INDIANA
Bayh-yes
Lugar-no

IOWA
Grassley-yes
Harkin-yes



Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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