Negotiating a Political Path to Agroforestry: Roots and Shoots of the Conservation Security Program

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Negotiating a Political Path to Agroforestry
Roots and Shoots of the Conservation Security
Program

• Nadine Lehrer
• University of Minnesota

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Suggestions for promoting agroforestry in the
U.S. through changes in farm policy
?
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Context of U.S. Agriculture

• Increased efficiency and concentration
• Economics, mechanization, business interests,
  cultural values, subsidies
• In this larger agricultural context, agroforestry
  seems peripheral
• How do we frame agroforestry as essential to the
  future of U.S. agriculture?
• Conservation Security Program as example

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U.S. Farm Policy

• Commodity subsidy history
• Roosevelts 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act
• Early coalition of Farm Bureau, USDA, Congress
• Farm Bill expansion has incorporated other
  interests
• Beneficiaries
• Most commodity subsidies go to large farms
• Most farm payments are still for commodities
• Federal farm payments 1995 2003 (EWG, 2005)
• 103.7 billion in commodity subsidies
• 16.3 billion in conservation subsidies
• Benefits are targeted
• Knutson et al., 1990 Wright Gardener, 1995
  Hoppe et al., 2001 EWG, 2005

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Conservation Security Program

• CSP history
• Sustainable agriculture community
• Tom Harkin, IA
• Funding caps and delays
• Change from open enrollment
• CSP mechanisms base payment, cost-share
  practices, enhanced payment

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Current Potential Impacts

• Impact (2004) 2200 producers, 1.9 million acres,
  18 watersheds, expansion for 2005
• Philosophical impact
• Relation to agroforestry

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CSP Politics
CSP is at a tipping point

• Opposition
• some environmental groups (ED?, EWG)
• some commodity groups (NCBA)
• some members of House
• some agribusiness

• Support
• sustainable agriculture groups (SAWG, SAC)
• environmental groups (Sierra Club, NRDC),
• some mainstream commodity groups (AFBF, NCGA)

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What to do at a tipping point

• Great potential for CSP and thus agroforestry
• Potential opposition and limited funding
• Strategies for supporting CSP
• Coalition-building
• Being attuned to situational factors (triggers)
  (Buck 1996)

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Coalition Building

• Conservation Coalition as an example
• 1985 versus 1990 (Roberts Dean 1994)
• Collaborative versus oppositional models
• Tactics
• Ideological Commonalities
• Situational Factors

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Ideological Commonalities

• Strength of common interests
• Family farmer rhetoric
• Public support
• Examples
• Tom Harkin
• Coalitions with
• agribusiness?

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Situational Factors

• World Trade Debates
• World Trade Organization ideology
• Conflicts over U.S. interests in domestic versus
  international spheres
• Domestic vs. multinational
• agribusiness interests
• 1995 URAA Green Box
• provisions
• Brazils cotton suit

Alexandre Meneghini / Associated Press
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A Hypothetical Situation

• Possibility of forced subsidy reduction in the
  U.S.
• Ideological need to support farmers
• CSP as a non-trade-distorting option
• A strong CSP coalition could step in to promote
  increases in CSP as subsidies are drawn down
• National Farmers Union, others
• Federal government and agribusiness emphasis on
  export markets
• A two-pronged approach
• Create an ideal CSP through coalition building
  lobbying
• Wait for potential triggers to expand coalitions
  ramp up CSP

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Where to go from here

• Possible Partners
• Green Lands Blue Waters
• Conservation Coalition chez Defenders of Wildlife
• National Fish Wildlife Federation
• National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture,
  SAWG, SAC
• Community Food Security Coalition, Kellogg
  Foundation
• National Catholic Rural Life Conference
• IATP and health community
• Minnesota Project, Land Stewardship Project
• Possible events
• Mike Johanns USDA listening sessions later this
  summer
• Community Food Security Coalition conference,
  October 2005

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Conclusions

• CSP is a good venue for agroforestry
• CSP is at a tipping point potential for
  expanded provisions and role in Farm Bill
• Policy is made incrementally through negotiating
  diverse interests
• Agroforestry community should help promote CSPs
  success through
• Broad and perhaps unlikely coalition-building
• Awareness and use of situational factors such as
  (but not limited to) world trade.

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Thank you!

• Many thanks to
• Mike Kilgore, Nick Jordan and lab group, Jill
  Feldstein, Ken Brooks, Anthony Snider, AFHVS
  group for reading, hearing, and commenting on
  various drafts
• EPA-STAR Fellowship Program, University of
  Minnesota (Dept. of Forest Resources, MISA,
  MacArthur Program) for funding support
• Many others for great thoughts and comments
• Questions? Comments?
• lehr0037_at_umn.edu