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 [log in to unmask] Contact Senator Harkin and ask him *not* to renege on his conservation proposals. Washington, DC: 202-224-3254 [log in to unmask] 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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]