(Excerpts from Agribusiness Association of Iowa Newsletter, February 2004)
Before 1985 there seemed to be a distinct line between USDA programs for soil conservation and commodity supply
control and crop loans. The 1985 Farm Bill introduced the Conservation Compliance provisions. The Highly Erodible Land (HEL),
Swampbuster and Sodbuster language discouraged crop production on fragile lands. If a producer wanted to participate in other
USDA programs, like commodity credit loans AMTA and LDP, the producer had to follow the provisions of the Conservation Compliance
section. The 1985 bill also included the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). These can be cited as the first major attempts
to offer incentives to follow conservation practices within a farm bill.
Conservation Provisions of the 2002 Farm Bill
Hearings in both the Senate and House Agricultural Committees have included calls for provisions in the 2002 farm bill
to provide landowners with payments based on the extent of conservation practices implemented on their farms. In our opinion
the 2002 Farm Bill will include some type of payment or incentive for properly documented conservation efforts applied to
the land. These payments would be scaled to reflect the level of conservation effort on the working farmlands and the environmental
"good" that these practices provide. Practices that have been mentioned include; nutrient, pest and residue management systems,
rotational grazing, wetland restoration, field and stream buffers and where applicable cover cropping. These practices require
technical assistance and need to follow procedures set forth by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of USDA.
In recent meetings, the NRCS has said few NRCS technicians will be added to the federal payroll to provide assistance.
CCAs members as Technical Service Providers
The Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) program has signed a national memo of understanding with the NRCS that gives "Third
Party Vendor" status to the properly trained CCA. As technical service provider, Jim Rowley, CCA, can assist land owners and
farm operators with nutrient management planning, pest management issues and residue management. Further, as a CCA
he can now offer planning services and written plans to comply with NRCS Practice Standards for residue management and nutrient
management. Soon, there will be a pest management program. The District Conservationist has information regarding conservation
practice planning and implementation in your area. Agronomy service personnel not certified as CCAs can also offer assistance
to producers. The District Conservationist can set up meetings and field demos in your area to explain the many programs that
can be applied to working farm lands in your territory.
Some Programs for You to Consider
EQIP - Environmental Quality Incentives Program - This program is locally driven to provide technical, financial and
educational assistance to land owners and operators to address threats to water and soil. Fifty percent (50%) of the total
funds must address livestock concerns. Check with the District Conservationists for EQIP priority areas.
SWCA - Soil and Water conservation Assistance - This program offers 75% cost share assistance for grassed waterways,
terraces, stream bank protection and livestock waste management systems. This is a new program this year and is available
in large areas of Iowa.
FARMABLE WETLANDS IN CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM - New pilot program in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota
and South Dakota. Up to 100,000 acres in Iowa. This program allows land owners to enroll small wetlands and adjacent buffers
in the continuous sign up of CRP.
Information about these initiatives and many other conservation programs from the USDA - NRCS can be seen at www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov
- click on the "Programs" button. Illinois landowners should visit www.il.nrcs.usda.gov - click on the "Programs" button.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) - Division of Soil Conservation administers programs through
the Soil and Water Conservation Districts in your area. These programs could be of interest to land owners and farm operators.
Go to the IDALS Web site www2.state.ia.us/agriculture/soilconservation.html. There you will find a report entitled Soil and
Water Conservation 2000 report. This report lists all of the state led programs at this time.
