President's Budget Calls for Deep Cuts in Conservation Progr

17% CUT PROPOSED FOR AG-LAND CONSERVATION EFFORTS

Although spending for most subsidy and conservation programs were set in the 2002 Farm Bill, the Administration's budget proposes significant changes and reductions to these politically popular programs. Agricultural land conservation programs bear the brunt of the cuts. Conservation programs would be cut by more than $800 million, a reduction of 17%. Funding for research and rural development are likewise targeted for major cuts. The budget also calls for reducing several crop subsidies and lowering the overall cap on aid to individual farmers.

The recommendations will sail into a strong political headwind with several key leaders in Congress already noting their opposition. The Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) all but ruled out the changes in comments yesterday. Sen. Cochran objected to reopening farm programs before the next Farm Bill reauthorization.

Like virtually all domestic programs, the Forest Service budget would also be cut under the President's proposal. Overall, the Forest Service would lose $721 million. The Urban and Community Forestry program is slated for a $4.4 million cut.


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Fishing the Ozarks

I haven't seen any specifics regarding which programs are getting the axe, but anglers should be aware that programs like WRP and CRP protect stream banks and waterways in farmland across the country. Programs like EQIP provide assistance to on-farm livestock feeding operations to help them dispose of animal waste without contaminating the watershed. Cuts in the Forestry Service budget are likely to curtail some stream restoration projects on USFS and BLM land.


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Fishing the Ozarks

I did not vote for Bush, I saw this coming. Food processers and exporters had been pushing the administration to scrap CRP to get more crop on the market and lower prices to processers at the expence of growers like me. Our rivers will suffer in the end. There has never been a better time to expand CRP and related conservation programs than now...FB.

I will never understand this kind of thing. Water is to the Earth like blood is to the body. I ache. Give me one day, just me and PResident Bush on the water.

If they cut CRP and WRP, I'm going to be mad!

I haven't heard specifics though.

We had a post like this over on the VFS board (dare I mention it?). I live on a dairy farm in Upstate, NY...so I feel very strongly about this sort of thing. There is some good information on that other post, along with just idiotic remarks to read though, but I feel there are some good points made that are worth looking at, especially later on in the thread. I'm Outdoorsman, btw.
[url=http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=306560:73195]http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=306560[/url:73195]

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"If firearms cause crimes and kill people, all of the ones I have must be defective."

It bears pointing out that conservation spending was increased by a good bit more than 17% under the 2002 Farm Bill. So, even with a 17% cut, we still have a net gain under this Administration. However, we'll have to wait and see WHICH PROGRAMS are cut and by HOW MUCH before we'll really know about net gains/losses.

The single biggest reason the ag lobby will rant and rave about this proposal is that the Bush Administration, in the 2002 Farm Bill, increased the total subsidy cap per farm from $250,000 to $300,000 and this plan contains a provision to reduce it back down to $250,000 per year. This impacts large-scale farmers pretty significantly, and they control the ag lobby.

But you can expect the environmental and wildlife conservation communities to also raise a lot of cane about these cuts as well. Nobody likes to get handed a big setback right after a major victory. And we were really just starting to get programs and funding that made good sense and restored some balance.

But...there's an expensive war going on. We've all got to be willing to tighten our belts somewhat I suspect. We all screamed about budget deficits, we all screamed about terrorism, and now we'll all scream when our favorite projects get scaled back in order to fight the war on terrorism, reduce the federal budget deficit by 50%, and still try to be all things to all people.

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Fishing the Ozarks

I'd encourage everyone to write their Congressmen and tell them that 17% cut needs to come from crop-related subsidies and that they should leave the conservation subsidies alone. Wildlife and clean water can't vote or even complain. WE have to be their voices.

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Fishing the Ozarks

CRP are often crop-related.

What sort of crop subsidies are you referring to? Across the country there are different types of agriculture, all with different needs.

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"If firearms cause crimes and kill people, all of the ones I have must be defective."

Spud,

CRP is not a crop subsidy. It is a conservation land subsidy. It is a subsidy paid for restoring crop land to more wildlife-friendly habitat. It began as a soil conservation subsidy but has evolved over the past 3 Farm Bills into a wildlife habitat subsidy.

Crop subsidies are paid by the production acre of land in corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice...that's it. The vast majority of these subsidies go to farming operations that do not need welfare.

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Fishing the Ozarks

Here's an excellent overview of the farm subsidies contained in the Farm Bill and who gets what.

[url=http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/bg1763.cfm:cc019]http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/bg1763.cfm[/url:cc019]

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Fishing the Ozarks

That describes it pretty well, although not specific programs. What I would really like to see, instead of general cuts, is giving more aid to smaller farmers while cutting from the large scale farms (often corporate farms).

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"If firearms cause crimes and kill people, all of the ones I have must be defective."

Here's an overview of all the budget cuts that impact wildlife conservation, including those not contained in the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill program cuts are in the final paragraph of this article.

[url=http://www.defenders.org/releases/pr2005/facts05.html:ec163]http://www.defenders.org/releases/pr2005/facts05.html[/url:ec163]

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Fishing the Ozarks

That's what I was afraid of...now farmers have no incentive to be good to the environment. I hope they keep the conservation programs that we have around here or we might just as well call the Chesapeake Bay a goner... http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/frown.gif

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"If firearms cause crimes and kill people, all of the ones I have must be defective."

Bush Budget Includes Increase for the Conservation Reserve Program

St. Paul, Minn. ? February 11, 2005 ? Pheasants Forever (PF) supports the starting point for historically successful conservation programs as announced in President Bush?s budget earlier this week. In both the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s (USDA) and U.S. Department of Interior?s proposed budgets for 2006 were increases to conservation programs beneficial to pheasants and a variety of other wildlife species; as well as soil, water, and air. Specifically, PF was pleased to see the President follow through on his August 2004 promise to continue the Conservation Reserve Program?s (CRP) wildlife legacy.

Within the USDA?s proposed budget were increases for three conservation programs with proven track records of improving water quality, preventing soil erosion, and creating wildlife habitat. First, CRP would see an increase of 4.1 percent to $2.02 billion. CRP has long been PF?s favorite program with a proven history of environmental and wildlife benefits, in addition to helping stabilize the income of farm families. Last August, the President directed the USDA to take action toward re-enrolling 22 million acres of CRP set to expire in 2007 and 2008, as well as move toward reaching a fully-enrolled program.

Also under the USDA?s budget, Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) funding would increase from $275 million to $321 million. WRP is USDA?s most successful conservation program targeted at wetlands. The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) would also see a slight increase to $60 million under the proposed Bush budget.

Details of the Department of Interior?s budget revealed a significant increase in funding for the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, as well as an increase in funds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service?s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. Funding for the North American Wetlands Act was budgeted at $49.9 million, which represents a 33% increase. Likewise, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program was budgeted at $52.2 million, an increase of 10%.

?These conservation programs have been a proven success for wildlife and the environment,? noted Howard Vincent, PF?s president and CEO. ?Those successes, coupled with the strong demand for the programs from our nation?s farmers, ranchers, and landowners makes proper funding for these programs so important.?

?The budgeting and appropriations process can be difficult and this is especially true under the tight fiscal situation that exists,? added Vincent. ?Having Presidential support of these important conservation programs is an excellent starting point for this budget process. We look forward to working with Congressional appropriators to maintain and strengthen these starting points.?

PF is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. Such efforts benefit landowners and wildlife alike. PF has more than 110,000 members in over 600 local chapters across the continent.

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For additional information about Pheasants Forever, please visit [url=http://www.pheasantsforever.org.:1e43f]www.pheasantsforever.org.[/url:1e43f]

Interesting how you can get such contradictory reporting from three different organizations all based on the same black-and-white budget proposal, huh? I definitely put more stock in what PF has to say that the press releases put out by these other two organizations. I'm disappointed in their lack of journalistic integrity.

BUT! Don't think this fight is over by a long shot. Congressmen and Senators from big ag states are already vowing to dismantle Bush's budget proposal vis-a-vis the Farm Bill and take the cuts from conservation programs instead of by capping subsidy payments to large farm operations.


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Fishing the Ozarks