A remarkable new conservation program enacted in the 2002 Farm Bill recognizes the essential role that agriculture must play in improving the environment. The Conservation Security Program will reward farmers for implementing conservation plans that enhance the environment in the midst of their working lands.

Current farming systems are contributing to surface water pollution, groundwater pollution, a zone of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, increased flooding, depletion of groundwater, air pollution, excessive odors, climate change, loss of wildlife habitat, degradation of natural ecosystems, loss of pollinators, loss of soil quality, soil erosion, and those are just the big categories. The leading concern is water quality, because the primary cause of surface water pollution in the US is agriculture, which contributes to 70% of impaired rivers, 49% of impaired lakes and 27% of impaired estuaries, according to EPA i.

Not only are the environmental challenges of the current system of agriculture numerous, they are often interrelated. Impacts on water quality, hydrology, air quality, human health, wildlife, and natural ecosystems are pervasive, and they often jump from one category to another. For example, evaporation of agricultural pesticides, nitrogen and methane into the air results in deposition of those same substances in rainfall, leading to another avenue of surface water pollution, as well as contributing to climate change. Excessive soil erosion leads to sedimentation of streams with resultant water quality and aquatic biota problems; sedimentation of stream bottoms, reservoirs, and lakes results in flooding which then causes more erosion. It is fruitless to target individual environmental "symptoms" when the entire system is "diseased". A conservation approach that deals with the entire farming system is the new approach embedded in the Conservation Security Program.

Environmental trends are generally not improving, though some may have stabilized at their current problematic levels. Nitrogen fertilizer use has been approximately level over the past fifteen years in the upper Mississippi River basin ii. Total manure production is level, but concentration into feedlots has led to manure spills, causing 3.3 million fish to be killed in 250 spills in the five Midwest states bordering the upper Mississippi River from 1995-1998 iii. Erosion has not improved over the past five years, leveling off at 1.9 billion tons per year, mostly generated in the Midwest iv. Meanwhile, average rates of pesticide use per acre are increasing, and U.S. pesticide sales have increased steadily, topping $7 billion in 1995 v. The massive National Water Quality Assessment Program found two or more pesticides in almost every water and fish sample collected from streams, and in about half of all wells sampled vi.

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) is a new program of incentives for conservation recently enacted and now undergoing rule development. It will reward farmers and ranchers who voluntarily implement effective conservation on their working lands. Farmers and ranchers will receive public support as they provide public benefits to the nation's natural resources and environment. They will solve critical resource problems, with graduated rewards for increasing efforts. The program will emphasize a systems approach and will move toward a performance, outcome-based reward structure. Both current and new conservation practices and systems will receive incentives - thus recognizing the good stewards of today while encouraging others to join their ranks. Special incentives will be provided to encourage diversified resource-conserving crop rotation systems, managed rotational grazing systems, conservation buffers and other high payoff, multiple benefit conservation measures.

All regions of the country and all types of agriculture will participate on a fair and equitable basis. There will be a continuous enrollment process and all producers with approved conservation plans will be able to participate without competitive bidding or delay. Benefits per farm or ranch will be capped at a modest amount annually but support will be ongoing for the life of the CSP conservation plan and contract, and contracts may be renewed.

Whole farm planning will be fostered, with a focus on cost-effective land management practices and systems. On-farm research and demonstration of new or not widely adopted systems and practices will be encouraged. On-farm and watershed level monitoring and evaluation will also be encouraged to document results. In sum, the CSP will be the most innovative and exciting program in the federal agricultural conservation toolbox and a critical new component of U.S. farm policy for years to come. Rules are being developed by USDA in 2003.

For more information, see www.mnproject.org/csp.

Included on the website are fact sheets, a brochure, powerpoint presentations, farmer profiles, current news articles, action alerts, and links to USDA websites with information on rulemaking and the law.

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Endnotes

i. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2000. National Water Quality Inventory: 1998 Report to Congress.

ii. Keeney, D. and Muller, M. September 2000. Nitrogen and the Upper Mississippi River. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

iii. Frey, M., Hopper R., and Fredregill, A. August 2000. Spills and Kills: Manure Pollution and America's Livestock Feedlots. Clean Water Network, Izaak Walton League of America, and Natural Resources Defense Council.

iv. U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2000. National Resources Inventory: Background and Highlights.

v. Benbrook, Charles. 1996. Pest Management at the Crossroads. Consumers Union.

vi. U.S. Geological Survey. 1999. The Quality of Our Nation's Waters: Nutrients and Pesticides.