Last week, we joined more than 140 leading farm, conservation, and wildlife groups in calling on Congress for protection of conservation program funding in the fiscal year 2020 appropriations process. The letter calls on appropriators to respect the funding decisions made in the 2018 farm bill and reject any cuts to farm bill conservation funding through the appropriations process.
Dear Chairman Bishop, Chairman Hoeven, Ranking Member Fortenberry, and Ranking Member Merkley,
The undersigned organizations urge you to protect farm bill conservation program mandatory funding as you consider agriculture appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2020. We further request that you provide robust discretionary funding and support for NRCS field staff, as technical assistance is essential for the delivery of conservation support for farmers and ranchers across the country.
In the 2018 Farm Bill, Congress reaffirmed the importance of voluntary, incentive-based conservation by maintaining level funding for the conservation title. Demand for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) consistently exceeds available dollars by at least two to one; in some years, USDA has been forced to turn away as many as three-quarters of eligible applicants. We are pleased that fiscal year 2018 and 2019 appropriations legislation included no cuts to these programs below authorized levels, and we urge you to ensure that these programs remain fully funded in the FY 2020 appropriations bill as well.
Full funding for conservation programs such as EQIP, CSP, Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) is critical to enable farmers, ranchers, and foresters across the country to conserve water, maintain their soil, protect farmland and wetlands, create and maintain fish and wildlife habitat, and produce abundant food and fiber. The funding already authorized for these programs should be protected as a vital investment in the infrastructure of rural America and in our future. Conservation support for healthy soil, clean water, and overall farm viability is essential as farmers struggle to stay afloat.
In addition to leaving farm bill conservation funding intact, we urge you to provide at least $890 million for Conservation Operations, including $790 million in critical funding for Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA). This request includes NRCS’s contribution to the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center, and we urge appropriators to ensure that NRCS continues to receive the support it needs for Conservation Operations, even under the centralization of functions within FPAC.
NRCS field staff provide direct technical assistance and planning support for farmers and ranchers across the country, and USDA’s ability to deliver conservation programs depends heavily on onthe-ground technical assistance. CTA provides landowners with the site-specific solutions needed to implement conservation practices on their lands, while providing accountability to ensure maximum return on the public investment. On-the-ground capacity continues to be a limiting factor for conservation implementation, and we must not hamstring our investment in conservation by underfunding technical assistance. Full funding for Conservation Operations is particularly important this year as NRCS works to implement the changes in the 2018 Farm Bill.
Funding for conservation support is more important now than ever, as farmers, ranchers, and rural communities continue to endure a multiyear slump in the farm economy. Any further cuts to voluntary conservation programs would severely limit the ability of farmers to protect water quality, build soil health, create and maintain habitat for threatened, endangered, or economically important fish and wildlife, and prepare for and manage drought and flooding. Cuts to farm bill conservation programs through the FY 2020 appropriations process would severely limit the number of qualified farmers able to access the programs, leading to more pollution as well as less productive and profitable farmlands as soil erodes and nutrients are lost.
As the Subcommittees develop FY 2020 appropriations bills, we urge you to reject any cuts to conservation programs, and to provide at least $890 million in discretionary funding for Conservation Operations, including $790 million for Conservation Technical Assistance.
Atentamente,
Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network
Alianza para los Grandes Lagos
American Bird Conservancy
American Farmland Trust
Fundación forestal americana
American Forests
Rios americanos
Asociación Estadounidense de Comercio de Semillas
Sociedad Americana de Agronomía
Americana Consejo Empresarial Sostenible
Asociación Americana del Agua
American Woodcock Society
Asociación de Agencias de Pesca y Vida Silvestre
Asociación de administradores estatales de llanuras aluviales
Broward Group of the Sierra Club
Asociación de Distritos de Conservación de Recursos de California
Agricultores orgánicos certificados de California (CCOF)
California Climate & Agriculture Network (CalCAN)
Federación de la oficina de la granja de California
Carbon Cycle Institute
Centro de Asuntos Rurales
Fundación de la bahía de Chesapeake
Citizens' Environmental Coalition
Acción de Agua Limpia
Alianza del agua de Cleveland
Empresas costeras, Inc.
Colorado Wildlife Federation
Alianza de Granjas Comunitarias
Community Farm Land Trust
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)
Concerned Citizens of Cattaraugus County
Sociedad de Ciencias de los Cultivos de América
Acción Rural de Dakota
Defensores de la vida silvestre
Delta Land & Community
Ducks Unlimited
Endangered Habitats League
Fondo de Defensa Ambiental
Centro de Políticas y Derecho Ambiental
Grupo de Trabajo Ambiental
Farm to Table NM
Florida Organic Growers
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT)
For Love of Water (FLOW)
Freshwater Future
Grassworks
Great Rivers Habitat Alliance
Green Lands Blue Waters
Headwaters Chapter Izaak Walton League of America
Hip Hop Caucus
Illinois Council of Trout Unlimited
Illinois Division of the Izaak Walton League
Alianza de Administración de Illinois
Federación de Vida Silvestre de Indiana
Instituto de Agricultura y Política Comercial
Izaak Walton League Illinois Division
Liga Izaak Walton de América
Izaak Walton League of America - National Great Lakes Committee
Izaak Walton League of America - Ohio Division
Izaak Walton League of America Illinois Division
Izaak Walton League of America Pennsylvania State Division
Centro Johns Hopkins para un futuro habitable
Centro Johns Hopkins para un futuro habitable
Coalición de Junction
Kampeska Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America
Centro rural de Kansas
Tierra para siempre
Contratistas de mejora de terrenos de Estados Unidos
Proyecto de custodia de la tierra
Land Trust Alliance
Lorain County Ely Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America
Fideicomiso de tierras agrícolas de Maine
Fideicomiso de Tierras Agrícolas de Marin
Instituto Agrícola Michael Fields
Michigan Land Improvement Contractors
Michigan Wildlife Conservancy
Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Red del río Misisipi
Coalición de Missouri para el Medio Ambiente
MN Division - Izaak Walton League of America
Montana Wildlife Federation
Montanan Organic Association
National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)
Asociación Nacional de Distritos de Conservación
Asociación Nacional de Agencias Estatales de Conservación
Sociedad Nacional de Audubon
Iniciativa nacional de conservación de la codorniz
Centro Nacional de Tecnología Apropiada
National Deer Alliance
Unión Nacional de Agricultores
Coalición Nacional Orgánica
Asociación de Conservación de Parques Nacionales
Coalición Nacional de Agricultura Sostenible
Federación Nacional de Pavos Salvajes
Federación Nacional de Vida Silvestre
Coalición Nacional de Jóvenes Agricultores
Consejo de Defensa de los Recursos Naturales
Federación de Vida Silvestre de Nebraska
New Mexico Food & Agriculture Policy Council
Asociación de Agricultura Orgánica del Noreste
Northeast Organic Farming Association - Vermont
Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter (NOFA/Mass)
Grupo de Trabajo de Agricultura Sostenible del Noreste
Asociación de alimentos y granjas ecológicas de Ohio
Consejo Ambiental de Ohio
Onondaga Audubon
Labranza de Oregón
Fundación de Investigación de Agricultura Ecológica
Asociación de Comercio Orgánico
Palouse Land Trust, Inc.
PCC Farmland Trust
Consejo de Iglesias de Pensilvania
Unión de agricultores de Pensilvania
Red de acción sobre plaguicidas
Asociación de polinizadores
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Red de ríos de la pradera
Ruffed Grouse Society
Rural & Agriculture Council of America
Coalición Rural
Slow Food Estados Unidos
Sociedad para la gestión de pastizales
Sociedad de Conservación de Suelos y Aguas
Sociedad Americana de Ciencias del Suelo
Fideicomiso de tierras de Sonoma
Superior Rivers Watershed Association
Red de agua limpia de Tennessee
The Conservation Fund
The Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA)
The Nature Conservancy
La sociedad de vida silvestre
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Trucha ilimitada
EE.UU. PIRG
Union of Concerned Scientists
Asociación de Virginia para la Agricultura Biológica
Red de conservación de Virginia
Federación del Medio Ambiente del Agua
Alianza de Propietarios de Tierras del Oeste
Western Reserve Chapter, Izaak Walton League of America
Wild Farm Alliance
Wisconsin Division IWLA
Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society
Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza
Sociedad Xerces para la Conservación de Invertebrados
Yolo Land Trust
