Contact: Adam Warthesen, LSP, 612-722-6377

2/13/04
LA CROSSE, Wis.—Attendees of the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse will have the opportunity to send comments on the USDA’s proposed Conservation Security Program (CSP) rules through an online connection at the conference. Using a laptop computer at the Land Stewardship Project booth, people will be able to instantly e-mail comments directly to Washington, D.C., concerning changes needed to the proposed rules.

The Conference, which runs from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28, occurs just prior to the March 2 deadline for submitting comments on the USDA’s proposed rules. CSP is a new national conservation program that was passed in the 2002 Farm Bill. It was enacted by Congress to make payments to farmers based on how well they are protecting and improving the environment—specifically by conserving our nation’s natural resources (like soil and water quality) on working farmland.

The USDA’s proposed rules for CSP were posted in the Federal Register on Jan. 2, 2004. The purpose of the comment period is to allow public input into how the CSP should be run. Family farmers and others concerned about sustainable agriculture, healthful food and conservation are urged to tell USDA what they think during the comment period.

“Properly implemented, CSP has the potential to make a big difference for family farms and the environment,” said Dan French, a southeast Minnesota dairy farmer and member of the Land Stewardship Project’s Federal Farm Policy Committee. “But there are major changes necessary to the USDA’s proposed rules if CSP is to be of real benefit to America’s farmers and the land. Attendees of the conference are in a perfect position to shape this exciting program into what the spirit and letter of the law says it should be. ”

The Land Stewardship Project’s free CSP comment terminal will be located at booth 136 (in the Exhibit Hall along a wall near the refreshments). Land Stewardship Project members and staff will be on hand to help, and will have CSP fact sheets available for conference attendees to refer to. For more information on CSP, visit http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/programs_csp.html, or call 612-722-6377.

The Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference will be held at the La Crosse Center, 300 Harbor View Plaza. This is the 15th year of this event, which is now one of the nation’s premier organic conferences. For details, visit http://www.mosesorganic.org, or call 715-772-3153.

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