Farm bill will impact conservation efforts
As Gus McCrae wisely quipped in “Lonesome Dove”: “Yesterday’s gone, we can’t get it back.” The Farm Bill of yesterday — or four years ago, to be clear — is coming to a close, soon to be replaced by a new bill. Though it may not seem like it at first blush, the Farm Bill has far-reaching effects for Texans and all Americans. Along with funding important initiatives like affordable and accessible food options, commodities, food production and trade, the Farm Bill legislation also funds critical conservation initiatives to assist farmers and landowners in voluntarily and proactively conserving land.
Last year, there were about 129,600,000 acres of farm land in production in Texas, maintained by 240,000 farm operations. In fact, of the more than171 million acres of land in the state, more than 95 percent of it is privately owned — and most of it (85 percent) is rural. So when we think about farming and its impact on our everyday lives, what happens on our farm lands and private lands in Texas greatly affects the land, air and water quality, fish and wildlife populations and healthy food sources.
That’s why we are asking U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, and Congress to support the important conservation work in this year’s Farm Bill . The Farm Bill is the primary federal funding source for private land conservation, which would impact a majority of the land in the state. Working within the current limited budget, Congress should increase the opportunity that landowners have to participate in quality conservation programs.
Conserving Texas’ natural lands cannot work without participation from farmers, ranchers and private landowners. And these workers often need support — including the knowledge on how to best manage their lands from a conservation perspective. To help farmers, ranchers and landowners, Congress added the first conservation title to the Farm Bill in 1985, providing assistance for education, training and financial support for conservation efforts.
When commodity prices are low, as they have been in recent years, farmers are more interested in participating in these conservation programs. The farmers benefit from reduced operating costs. The American public benefits from the proactive conservation measures that are implemented. In recent years, Farm Bill conservation programs have worked so well that demand from farmers to participate in the programs is now exceeding supply.
The Farm Bill ’s Agriculture Conservation Easement Program allows landowners to voluntarily protect their land from future development. These initiatives, like the Wetland Reserve Easements and Agricultural Land Easements, can have significant impact for long-term protection of valuable farming lands and better management for stormwater runoff—which we all know can have serious consequences, as seen in Hurricane Harvey. Unfortunately, in 2016, Farm Bill funding only allowed for enrollment of about 15 percent of the applications to participate in these programs. Therefore, in the 2018 bill we urge Congress to provide funding for the easement program that will meet more of the demand.
In another popular voluntary program, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), farmers agree to remove “environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality,” in exchange for rental payment, according to the Dept. of Agriculture. However, again, demand greatly exceeds funding opportunity for enrollment in the CRP, which improved 36 million acres at its peak in 2007 before being scaled back.
Additionally, the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, which provides funding to landowners to improve their habitat and open it for public recreational access, has proved very popular with sportsmen but currently only meets one-third of demand for participation. In 2017, this program opened more than 600,000 acres for sportsmen access. According to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, programs like this have not only increased opportunities for Americans to enjoy outdoor recreation, but also have created a nearly 100 percent return-on-investment to participating rural communities.
Large bills like the Farm Bill have a tendency for partisan issues to arise as they are being negotiated. However, those partisan issues are not typically found in the conservation space, where the value of these programs are broadly recognized. We hope that our leaders in Congress will resolve to move forward with a bill so that positive conservation benefits can be achieved for all Americans.