Posted by Jane Clark

Conservation Security Act

The following issue is EXTREMELY URGENT!  Please call or email our Senators
Tuesday to ensure that conservation money is included in the next Farm Bill!

The Sierra Club opposes the "dirty" Farm Bill, H.R. 2646, recently passed by
the U.S. House of Representatives.  This bill threatens our air and water,
unfairly subsidizes corporate agribusiness, and fails to combat sprawl.

All is not lost, however!  The Senate has a chance to reform this
legislation and enact a new Farm Bill that will protect the environment and
our food supply, as well as reward family farmers on working lands.

A key component of a "cleaner" Farm Bill is the Conservation Security Act,
introduced by U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR).  The
Conservation Security Act provides a comprehensive, flexible, voluntary
approach to farm conservation policy by providing incentive payments to
farmers and ranchers for maintaining or adopting conservation practices on
land in production.

And YOU have a chance to make sure the Conservation Security Act is part of
the new Farm Bill!

Recently, the Conservation Security Act has come under severe attack by
Senators who want to switch funds that are proposed to be spent on
conservation over to even more "commodity program" payments.

*Contact Senator Harkin and let him know he has support from Iowans for this
innovative approach to farm conservation policy, so he should not back away
from the conservation proposals he has made, nor should he propose to weaken
existing conservation programs in the face of Senate opposition.

*Contact Senator Grassley and tell him not to join the Senate opposition to
the Conservation Security Act.  There is still time for him to become a
co-sponsor of this Act and to do the right thing for the environment, for
family farmers, and for the future of Iowa.

Sample Talking Points in Support of the Conservation Security Act

* I am a member of the Sierra Club and I am calling to urge Senator Grassley
to co-sponsor the Conservation Security Act as a part of the new Farm Bill.
This Act represents a model of farm spending that moves away from incentives
for overproduction and environmental degradation to a system that rewards
farmers for implementing conservation practices on working lands.

* I am a member of the Sierra Club and I am calling to encourage Senator
Harkin to follow through with his farm conservation proposals, including the
Conservation Security Act, as he participates in the creation of a new Farm
Bill.

* The Conservation Security Act establishes the Conservation Security
Program, a voluntary program that lets farmers select their level of
conservation performance and rewards them for real achievements, while
providing measurable environmental benefits for everyone.

* The voluntary, flexible, site-specific conservation plans created under
the Conservation Security Act can help improve soil health and productivity;
improve and protect air and water quality; restore, conserve, and enhance
wetlands and wildlife habitat; and provide on-farm conservation and
regeneration of natural resources.

* The CSA is intended to complement, not replace, other conservation
programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program,
and Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

* Please co-sponsor and continue to support the Conservation Security Act,
an innovative approach to farm conservation policy that can fundamentally
reform the way society supports farmers.

Contact Senator Grassley and urge him to co-sponsor the Conservation
Security Act.
Washington, DC: 202-224-3744
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Contact Senator Harkin and ask him *not* to renege on his conservation
proposals.
Washington, DC: 202-224-3254
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If you want more information about the Conservation Security Act, please
email the Iowa Chapter at [log in to unmask] or call us at
515-277-8868.  Please contact our Senators as soon as possible, because
action on the Farm Bill could occur quickly.  Thanks for your help on this
important conservation issue.

Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
Explore, Enjoy, and Protect the Planet.

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