Posted by Jane Clark, forwarded from Iowa Environmental Council. Disastrous Farm Bill could come up for vote by House of Representatives as early as Wednesday, October 3rd -- potentially setting agriculture policy for the next ten years! ACTION NEEDED TODAY Please tell your Representative to vote NO on the Combest-Stenholm Farm Bill (H.R. 2646) The Capitol Switchboard number is 202/224-3121. Ask for your Representative by name and they will connect you. Ask to speak with the legislative aide who handles agriculture. If you get voice mail, leave a short message and/or ask to be called back. H.R. 2646 does not serve our national interest because: - It continues FAILED FARM PROGRAMS that are expensive and just don't work. - It FAILS to encourage conservation practices on the farm and ranch. - It FAILS to promote rural development that strengthens agricultural communities. - It FAILS to improve competition and fairness in the domestic agricultural marketplace. In addition: - H.R. 2646 would subsidize huge factory farms. EQIP (the Environmental Quality Incentives Program) would be turned into a program that funds large-scale confined animal feeding operations for cleaning up their messes. - H.R. 2646 would increase subsidies to the nation's largest farms. There are many more problems with HR 2646. For our detailed critique, visit the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture website at <http://www.sustainableagriculture.net>. You can see the bill at <http://www.agriculture.house.gov/farmbill.htm>. Thank you for your quick response! Iowa Environmental Council 711 East Locust Street Des Moines, Iowa 50309 515/244-1194 phone 515/244-7856 fax [log in to unmask] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]