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Federal money prods farmers to convert fields — GAO |
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Federal subsidies have encouraged U.S. farmers to plow up millions of
acres of grasslands and convert them to row crops, according to a new
report released this week by the Government Accountability Office.
The report found that farm program payments are an "important factor"
in producer decisions to convert grasslands. In response, Senate
Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said he intends to
include a requirement in the new farm bill that would cut off federal
support for anyone who plows up prairies.
"We need to have farm policy that protects farmers and the
environment from unintended consequences," Harkin told reporters
Tuesday.
Currently, farmers can receive crop subsidies, crop insurance
and disaster payments for crops planted on former grasslands. Harkin
wants to cut off all three of those in his "sodsaver" requirement in
the farm bill. The House-passed farm bill has a less stringent measure
that would cut off only crop insurance.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), whose state was highlighted in the
GAO report, said in an interview Tuesday he would support the sodsaver
requirement as long as it has a "balanced approach" that "fits with the
reality of the planting practices of the last 30 years."
Farmland conservation and wildlife groups are supportive of
the more robust protections for grasslands, which provide vital habitat
for birds and other wildlife and help protect watersheds from runoff.
The United States lost almost 25 million acres of privately
owned grasslands from 1982-2003, according to the report. While some of
those acres went into development or other land uses, the chief use was
for cropland.
New crop technology and rising crop prices, spurred by the
growing demand for ethanol, have inspired farmers to plant crops on
acres that were once considered marginal or unsuitable for crops.
The grassland conversion is leading to even higher federal disaster and insurance payments, according to GAO.
In a case study of South Dakota farmers, GAO found that the 16
counties with the highest grasslands conversion rates received 40
percent of all disaster payments from 1998-2004. Crop insurance
payments in those counties over the past 10 years were also twice as
high as other counties with less grassland conversion.
Federal subsidies for these conversions may be working at
"cross purposes" with conservation programs, according to GAO. From
1982-1997, South Dakota farmers enrolled 1.69 million acres in the
Conservation Reserve Program but converted 1.82 million acres to
cropland.
"Current policy has one foot on the accelerator and one foot
on the brake," said Ferd Hoefner of the Sustainable Agriculture
Coalition, which supports Harkin's sodsaver proposal.
Current farm policy includes a less stringent "sodbuster"
provision that requires producers to use certain soil conservation
systems if they receive federal payments to plant highly erodible land
that was once grassland. But GAO said the effect has been marginal
because much of the native grasslands that farmers have converted did
not qualify as highly erodible.
New farm bill deadline set
Harkin said he expects his committee to vote on the farm bill
before the Oct. 6 Columbus Day recess, even if he does not have more
money from the Finance Committee by then.
"I can't wait on them," Harkin told reporters Tuesday.
But while Harkin vowed to move his bill through committee in
the next three weeks, he also held open the door for the possibility
that he might just extend the current farm bill if he cannot find
enough support for his rewrite.
"I am not unalterably opposed to extending the present farm bill." Harkin said. "We are going to try to do a new bill."
He said bypassing the committee process to bring the
House-passed farm bill straight to the floor is an "option," but he
does not expect to go that direction.
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