The Kind motion to recommit failed and the Farm bill passed. Sierra Club
is a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

The Sierra Club's number one problem with the Farm Bill is the EQIP
program will allow CAFO's to get money for controlling pollution. The
Club believes that these facilities are big enough (sometimes owned by a
multinational corporation) to afford paying for the clean up of their
pollution themselves. In the past CAFOs were prohibited from getting
this money and we supported that. The money was targeted in Iowa to
small operations in certain watersheds.

The other problem the club had was the lack of payment limitations in
the commodity program. If there had been payment limitations on the
commodity program and the EQIP program, I believe our position would
have been different.

Thanks to Erin for posting the Sierra Club's press release that
explained our position.


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: SAC press release: recommit Farm Bill to Conference
Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 08:31:07 EDT
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE COALITION

For Immediate Release                   Contact: Ferd Hoefner
May 1, 2002                         202/547-5754


COALITION SUPPORTING KIND MOTION TO RECOMMIT FARM BILL

WASHINGTON, DC -   The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition today announced
its
support for the motion to recommit the farm bill to conference to be
offered
by Rep. Ron Kind.  The motion follows closely the motion to instruct the
conferees passed overwhelmingly by the House two weeks ago on the issue
of
payment limitations.

The farm bill conferees chose to ignore the will of the House on payment
limitation reform.  Instead, the conference adopted an extension of the
status quo, leaving the full array of current loopholes to the limits in
place, including generic certificates which allow unlimited payments to
the
nation’s largest operations.  Not content with just maintaining the
loopholes, the conference report actually increases the limit on income
support payments by $50,000 to $210,000.  Marketing loan payments remain
without any cap at all.

The motion to recommit will instruct conferees to reinvest the savings
from
payment limit reform into rural development, conservation, energy, and
nutrition programs.

“The farm bill should assist family farms and rural communities, not
do
harm,” said Ferd Hoefner, Washington Representative for the
Coalition.  “A
yes vote on the motion to recommit is a vote for agriculture and rural
revitalization.”

The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition represents Midwest-based farm,
rural
and conservation organizations that advocate public policies supporting
the
long-term economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture,
natural
resources and rural communities.

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