This article points one of the things that is wrong with reauthorization of the
Farm Bill that passed the House Agriculture Committee before the August recess.
Sierra Club supports limits for payments in programs like EQIP. Many people ( in
the non profit community, at the state and federal government level) have worked
hard to see that EQIP payments are limited to farms under 1000 animal units (a
cow is one animal unit)  in the past. I am not surprised that the factory farm
owners are now looking to the government for a handout to support their
unsustainable animal factories.

Because Senator Harkin, Representatives Nussle, Boswell, and Latham all play a
*committee* role in the farm bill debate, we in Iowa are an improtant voice in
this debate. In the upcoming months,  please respond to requests to contact
these decision makers and the press on farm bill issues.

Jane Clark wrote:

> Forwarded by Jane Clark
>
> EQIP
>
> >Reauthorize the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) through
> 2011 at $1.2 billion annual program level, with livestock producers
> receiving 50% of annual funding. In addition, a $300 million fund is created
> in EQIP to address ground water conservation issues, including cost share
> for more efficient irrigation systems. Total: $10.3 billion over 10 years.
>
> >While this legislation would provide a $1.5 billion annual increase for
> agriculture conservation programs, two-thirds is dedicated to the
> Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and throws open the doors
> on this program to subsidies of large, argibusiness-scale livestock
> operations

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