Contact: Dan French, Dodge Center, 507-635-5619
Mark Schultz, LSP, 612-722-6377

1/20/04
DODGE CENTER, Minn. – When Dodge Center dairy farmer Dan French began working on federal farm policy issues, he knew one thing for sure.

“There had to be a change for the better,” said French. “We needed to get a program going that would recognize and reward farmers for the benefits they produce for society at large by farming in a way that takes good care of the soil, water and air.”

That was in 1999, when French was part of a group of 14 farmers organized by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) who brought a “stewardship incentives” program idea to Washington, D.C. These farmers held 36 meetings with members of Congress and USDA officials. A few months later, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa adopted many of their ideas and introduced the Conservation Security Act. Now, five years later, the USDA is beginning the process of implementing the Conservation Security Program (CSP), a federal farm program that was enacted by Congress to make payments to farmers based on how well they are protecting and improving the environment.

The CSP was passed as part of the 2002 Farm Bill and designed to be run nationwide and made available to all farmers. At the end of 2003, Congressional negotiators re-affirmed full funding for the CSP as an uncapped program (estimated at nearly $8 billion over 10 years) beginning in the fall of 2004, with some start-up funding earlier in 2004.

“The CSP is getting rolling, which is good to see,” said French. “Properly implemented, it can be of use to a lot of farmers across America who use effective conservation on their land. The idea is, the more positive environmental outcomes you achieve by the way you farm – actual results like increased soil quality and reduced erosion, enhanced water quality, and clean air – the higher up in the program you can go and the more CSP payments you will get. It is a win for the public and a win for the farmer.”

USDA posted the proposed rules for how the CSP will be run on Jan. 2 in the Federal Register. Members of the public now have 60 days – until March 2 – to comment on the proposed rules. After making changes based on the public’s comments, the USDA is required to issue final rules for CSP and get the program up and running.

French, a member of LSP’s Federal Farm Policy Committee, urged all interested members of the public to comment on the proposed rules.

“Unfortunately, the USDA’s proposed rules severely restrict entry into CSP to farmers in just a few watersheds around the country,” he said. “That’s unnecessary and is contrary to what’s in the law. People need to tell USDA that they need to fix that and get this program out to all farmers who practice effective conservation, as Congress intended.”

Comments on the proposed rules may be sent to david.mckay@usda.gov, or by mail to Conservation Security Program Comments, ATTN: David McKay, NRCS Conservation Operations Division, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013.

Internet links to the proposed rules, USDA summaries of the proposed rules, and other information on CSP can be found at www.landstewardshipproject.org/programs_csp.html. For more information, contact the Land Stewardship Project office at 612-722-6377.

-30-