Next Farm Bill Reflections and Projections

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Next Farm BillReflections and Projections

• NOPBNRCSE 2005
• Little Rock, Arkansas

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SWCS Activity

• 2001 Report
• Recommendations for reform of conservation
  provisions in 2002 farm bill.
• Based on input from regional workshops.
• 2004 Report
• Evaluation of implementation of 2002 conservation
  provisions.
• Recommendations to enhance performance of
  conservation title.
• Now
• Co-chair farm and ranch stewardship workgroup-130
  plus organizations.
• Seeking common ground for 2007 farm bill.

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2004 SWCS Report
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2007 Farm BillBig Four Conservation Issues

• Conservation Title
• Money.
• PerformancePrecision Conservation.
• Technical Infrastructure.
• Commodity Title
• Greening crop subsidies.

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Money2002 Farm Bill
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Money2002 versus 2007
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Money 2007

• Everything versus Social Security, Medicare,
  Iraq, Homeland Security, tax cuts.
• Conservation versus crop subsidies.
• Conservation program versus conservation program.
• 2007 farm bill spend less than 2002 farm bill in
  total.

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PerformanceEnvironmental Regeneration

• Resource conservation, 1935 to 1985.
• Enhance productivity of agriculture.
• Sustain the resource base agriculture depends on.
• Environmental management, 1985
• Soil, water, air quality.
• Fish and wildlife habitat.
• Ecological goods and services.

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Priorities1935 to 1985
Productivity
Resource Base
Environment
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Priorities2002
Productivity
Resource Base
Environment
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PerformanceHistoric Opportunity
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Performance Historic Opportunity

• Repair key landscape functionsland retirement
  and restoration, 2.3 billion.
• Hydrology the amount, timing, and pathway water
  reaches streams.
• Wetlands, stream channels, habitat.
• Improve farm ranch managementworking land
  conservation, 2.3 billion.
• Nutrient, water, soil, grazing, crop management.
• Pollution pathways erosion, runoff, drainage.

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PerformanceEnvironmental Regeneration

• Environmental regeneration and resource
  conservation are
• Compatible.
• Complementary.
• But different...
• Watershed/landscape scale versus farm/ranch
  scale.
• Joint versus individual effort.
• Targeting, targeting, targeting.

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Precision ConservationKey to Environmental
Management

• Precision conservation
• The right practices,
• In the right places,
• At the right time, and
• At the right scale.
• Applies to field, farm, and watershed.
• Rapidly advancing science and technology.

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Precision ConservationBig Opportunity Big
Challenge

• Best reason for professionals to be in charge of
  programs.
• Quandary Even heroic efforts by award-winning
  landowners may not pay off.
• Way forward
• Balanced portfolio.
• Cooperative conservation projectsback to the
  future.
• Emphasis on technical services.

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Precision ConservationA Balanced Portfolio
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Precision ConservationCooperative Conservation
Projects

• Remember the watershed approach?
• Makes precision conservation technically AND
  politically feasible.
• Back to our roots as a profession.
• Maximize our value added.

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Technical ServicesKey to Precision Conservation

• Know how is most important factor driving
  precision conservation.
• Know how at field, farm, and watershed scales.
• Dense and diverse infrastructure required to
  deliver know-how right time, right place, right
  people, right form.

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Technical Services Step Ahead in 2002
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Technical Services Step Ahead in
2002Technical Service Providers
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Technical Services 2007

• Secure 2002 gains.
• Need Blueprint
• Coordinated investment planto build
  infrastructure suitable for environmental
  regeneration.
• Couple CCC funding with strategic increases in
  discretionary funds for CTA, research, and
  education.
• Allocate resources to federal, state, local
  government, NGOs, and private sector based on
  ability to deliver.

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Greening Commodity Programs

• Conventional commodity subsidies in trouble.
• Most producers dont benefit.
• Top heavy distribution.
• Trade rulings and negotiations.
• Competition for funding.
• Green Payments as an alternative?

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Greening Commodity Programs

• 2002 CSP small step toward green payments.
• 2007 Big questions.
• Income support versus environmental performance?
• Replace commodity programs?
• Replace conservation programs?
• Expand conservation compliance?

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2007 Agenda

• Hang on to the conservation title money.
• Pragmatic conservation title reform to improve
  environmental performance.
• Build technical infrastructure to inform
  environmental management.
• Green the commodity title.

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The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS)
is a nonprofit scientific and educational
organization?founded in 1943?that serves as an
advocate for professional resource
conservationists and environmental managers and
for science-based conservation and environmental
practice, programs, and policy. SWCS has over
7,000 members around the world. Our mission is
to foster the science and art of natural
resource conservation and environmental
management on working land?the land used to
produce food, fiber, and other services that
improve the quality of life people experience in
rural and urban communities. We pursue our
mission through a combination of research,
education, and advocacy. You can learn more
about SWCS and our projects by visiting our
website www.swcs.org