Governors Call for Farmer Assistance

March 19, 2001

The National Governors Association (NGA) has called for a new state-federal strategy that would provide coordinated and flexible educational, financial, and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. The NGA is launching a program to help promote "working lands conservation" for general land preservation.

"Every day valuable forest, crop and ranch land is increasingly threatened by sprawl. There is a sense of urgency to act now to preserve our rural heritage, our natural resources and our quality of life. We have the opportunity to take the lead and develop an effective plan to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century," NGA Chairman Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening said.

While working lands conservation is not a new idea, the current system has languished because of under-funding, complex rules, and inadequate education, according to Joel Hirschhorn, director of the natural resources policy studies division of the NGA Center for Best Practices.

"Some landowners don't even know there's available help. What's worse is that many of those who do apply are turned away because of insufficient funding," Hirschhorn explained, noting that USDA spending on private lands conservation programs totaled about $2.5 billion in 1999 or, in adjusted dollars, less than half of the amount dedicated to working lands conservation 60 years ago.

Working lands make up about 70% or 1.4 billion acres of the nation's landscape, and an effective conservation program would help combat suburban sprawl, protect wildlife habitat, and help reduce air and water pollution.

The NGA also pointed out that inadequate funding for federal conservation programs has prevented thousands of farmers and ranchers from receiving needed technical and financial assistance. Approximately half the farmers and ranchers seeking basic technical help from their local conservation districts on methods to filter polluted runoff or combat global warming fail to get that help.

Under a coordinated, flexible and adequately funded program, local conservation officials could offer landowners a menu of government programs to help with everything from preserving wildlife habitat to restoring wetlands.

Speaking to the governors about conserving natural resources, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said additional land and water conservation improvements by farmers and ranchers will depend largely on the farm economy and the government's ability to offer cooperative support and assistance.

"With the current farm economy so weak, no farmer is going to spend money he does not have on practices that do not contribute to the financial well-being of the operation," said Stallman, a Columbus, TX, rice and cattle producer. "Nationally, farmers and ranchers have suffered low commodity prices for three years and we are probably looking at a fourth. In some areas, weather has limited production severely. Having a small crop to sell at a low price is an equation for disaster. Pressures to save the environment when you are worrying how you can save your farm are likely to go unheard."

Stallman told the governors that "it is more important than ever that state and federal programs deliver sensible solutions economically and without placing excessive and expensive stress on our farms." Farm Bureau members, said Stallman, want program and regulatory consistency and "expect a reasonable relationship between economic and social costs and benefits. Unlike other businesses, farmers and ranchers cannot simply pass (regulatory) costs on to the buyers of their commodities."

Stallman called for greater use of government cost-share incentives to help install and maintain approved conservation practices. He said conservation incentive programs must be voluntary and offer incentives for a wide range of actions if they are to be effective and accepted by farmers.