As far as I can tell under this Farm Bill proposal,
taxpayers would subsidize ethanol crops on CRP land. Then the
landowners would harvest those crops and make more money. If
the ethanol crops consisted of switchgrass or giant miscanthus, which seems
entirely possible, the wildlife habitat value of that land would plummet,
apart from the issue of harvesting once a year.
I haven't heard meaningful statements yet from the White House
or Congress, including our own delegation, about balancing the needs
of wildlife with the need for cellulose ethanol. What I've been
hearing are statements that switchgrass will be great for both ethanol
and wildlife, which of course is not true. (If others have heard more
enlightened statements, I'd welcome the news.)
If the White House and Congress are going to have an
"Ethanol Reserve Program" that has ethanol production as the
prime objective, then they should be honest and call it by
that name and determine how to fund it from there. Don't ask me for
money to help pay for the Conservation Reserve Program if that's not what
I'm going to get in return.
ch