Please write a letter in support of the CSA. This pragram is up for
consideration now by the Appropriations Committee.
The CSA, introduced by Harkin of Iowa and Minge of Minnesota, is a long term
funding mechanism for conservation and wetlands reserve programs. It
provides financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to help find viable
solutions to agricultural, environmental, and economic concerns. Here are
some examples of farming practices that the CSA supports: carbon storage;
conservation buffers; restoring wildlife habitat; soil conserving practices;
rotational grazing; nutrient management; restoring prairies and/or wetlands.
Here is what Charlie Winterwood, Iowa's Sierra Club Chairman, wrote
regarding the CSA:
:
"it's time we reward farmer's for
> practicing good stewardship practices. Senator
> Harkin's Conservation Security Act will do this which
> will in turn ease the agricultural runoff which is
> polluting Iowa's rivers and lakes. We need to devote
> more of the agricultural budget to conservation
> instead of commodity price supports for crops we are
> overproducing such as corn and soybeans."
Address letter to:
The Honorable Robert Byrd
Chairman Approrpriations Committee
US Senate
Washington DC 20510
cc Senator Harkin
US Senate
Washington DC 20510
Points you may want to bring out in your letter:
That it is important to Iowa to protect our water and soil resources
and, though Iowa's farmers are doing a great job in this regard, a lot more
needs to be done.
That eleven parks posted swimming warnings this spring due to high fecal
bacteria levels; and two parks closed their swimming areas for the same
reason.
Iowas rivers are muddy and nitrate levels can run very high during
spring rains due to farm runoff.
The EPA has reported that 2/3 of Iowa's rivers and 1/4 of Iowa's lakes
are too polluted for swimming. 159 waterways were listed as impaired under
the Clean Water Act.
Buffers can remove more than 50% of nutrients, more than 60% of certain
pathogens, and more than 75% of sediment pollution.
How the lack of clean water and natural wilderness areas have
contributed to the exodus from our state
That the pollution that our farms cause has an effect downstream; the
dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico being a very serious example.
You may mention how you have personally seen places where farmers have
planted crops in floodplains or right up to stream banks.
Quote Charlie Winterwood (above).
Send one copy of your letter to Senator Byrd and one to Senator Harkin.
Thank you very much for your time and effort.
Jack Eastman
More information for those of you who want to get into the details:
Conservation Security Act 2001
Summary: The Conservation Security Act (CSA) of 2001 provides financial
assistance to help farmers and ranchers find viable solutions to
agricultural, environmental, and economic concerns. The CSA helps
agriculture respond to site-specific environmental challenges on a voluntary
basis with a flexible program designed to address these challenges in a
cost-effective and results-oriented fashion. The CSA rewards producers for
good stewardship in appreciation of the many non-market environmental and
social benefits that these practices provide society.
Conservation Purposes: The Conservation Security Program (CSP) created by
the CSA addresses the full range of conservation concerns related to
agriculture, including:
-- conservation of soil, water, energy, and other related resources
-- soil, water, and air quality protection and improvement
-- on-farm conservation and regeneration of plant germplasm
-- wetland and wildlife habitat restoration, conservation, and enhancement
-- greenhouse gas emissions reduction and carbon sequestration
-- and other similar conservation goals
Participation: Participation in the program stipulates that land practices
must achieve resource and environmental benefits,
but does not require the removal of land from production. In addition,
practices do not need to be newly introduced to the farm/ranch; producers
can be rewarded for good stewardship practices implemented prior to
enrollment in the CSP.
Participants are responsible for developing conservation security plans that
identify targeted resources, practices, and implementation schedules.
Participants are granted maximum flexibility for choosing land management
practices suitable for individual farms. In certain instances, the plan may
include an on-farm research or demonstration component.
Tiers: Participants have the choice of enrolling in one of three tiers:
-- Tier I participants address priority resource concerns on all or part of
their farms/ranches. Practices may include soil and residue management,
nutrient management, pest management, irrigation management, grazing
management, wildlife habitat management, contour farming, strip cropping,
and related practices.
-- Tier II participants address priority resource concerns on the whole
farm/ranch and meet applicable resource management system criteria. Tier II
practices entail adoption of land use adjustment practices such as
resource-conserving crop rotations, rotational grazing, conservation buffer
practices, restoration of wildlife habitats, prairies, and/or wetlands, and
related practices.
-- Tier III participants satisfy the requirements of Tiers I and II, while
integrating land use practices into a whole-farm, total-resource approach
that fosters long-term sustainability of the resource base.
Payment and Eligibility: Payments are based on the natural resource and
environmental benefits expected from plan implementation, the number and
timing of management practices established, income forgone due to land use
adjustments, costs related to on-farm research, and several other factors.
Bonuses are also offered to beginning farmers and for joint participation by
operators within a small watershed. Payments may not exceed $20,000,
$35,000, and $50,000 for
Tier I, II, and III contracts, respectively. Payment contracts are for 5
years for Tier I and from 5 to 10 years for Tier
II and III.
Funding: The program is funded out of the Commodity Credit Corporation and
all eligible producers will receive contract payments for the requisite
number of years. CCC funding is also provided for technical assistance,
education and outreach, and monitoring and evaluation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to be removed from this email list reply to sender and insert
"REMOVE FROM LIST" in Subject line
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]