Study Finds Conservation Security Program a Catalyst for Midwest Farm Conservation; Program Popular Among Farmers Despite Funding Cuts

CONTACT: Tim Gieseke, Minnesota Project, 507-359-1889
Adam Warthesen, Land Stewardship Project, 612-722-6377

4/19/07
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.– A report released today by a coalition of Midwest farm organizations shows that the Conservation Security Program (CSP) is spurring on-farm conservation.  The report finds farmers enrolled in the Conservation Security Program are taking advantage of the program’s incentives by adding new practices to their farms that protect natural resources.  The report was the culmination of a project conducted in the Midwest by a number of farm groups to assess the regional implementation of CSP. The report and CSP were highlighted today at a hearing conducted by the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research.

“The Conservation Security Program is securing and driving on-farm conservation that supports better care of the land and environment,” said Adam Warthesen, Land Stewardship Project organizer and report partner. “Where CSP is available, farmers are taking on additional practices they otherwise would not have.”

The report, The Conservation Security Program Drives Resource Management: An Assessment of CSP Implementation in Five Midwestern States, finds that once they are enrolled in the working lands program, the majority of farmers are adding new conservation practices to their operations.   

Most commonly, farmers enrolled in the program are adding new wildlife habitat to their farms.  Those practices can include planting native grasses, fencing off wetlands and wooded areas, adding winter cover to cropland or adding grassed field borders.  Farmers are also adding conservation practices that improve nutrient management, reduce pesticide use, address farmstead issues, and more. 

“We signed up for the Conservation Security Program because it made sense for our farm,” said Brad Hodgson, who farms with his wife Leslea near Fountain, Minn. The Hodgsons have a Tier III CSP contract in the Root River watershed. “One practice I started with CSP that I’ve never done before was including a flushing bar on my mowing equipment. Now when cutting hay you can see the immediate benefits of this practice as it saves wildlife.”

Farmers can add new practices as part of their initial Conservation Security Program contract.  They can also modify their contracts annually and receive higher payments by adding new conservation practices, following their first year of enrollment in the program.

The report reviews the Conservation Security Program in five Midwest states: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. CSP was created in the 2002 Farm Bill and will be up for re-authorization by Congress in the 2007 Farm Bill. Nationwide, nearly 20,000 farms are enrolled in CSP, totaling 16 million acres. In Minnesota, 712 farmers are enrolled in CSP, covering over 200,000 acres.  However, because of funding cuts, only a third of the farmers nationwide who qualified for CSP in 2006 were enrolled in the program. 

“Overwhelmingly, farmers want the Conservation Security Program to be a part of the next farm bill, but they want a fully-funded program that is also streamlined and transparent in its process,” said Tim Gieseke, the Agriculture and Environmental Policy Specialist with the Minnesota Project and author of the report. 

Congress and the administration have cut $4.3 billion from the Conservation Security Program since the program was created in the 2002 Farm Bill.  Inadequate funding has resulted in unfulfilled contracts even when farmers qualify, an inequitable watershed selection process, and narrow sign-up periods. Yet, as the report concludes, even with funding limitations CSP is still popular and there is overwhelming support to see it grow in the next farm bill.

“This report shows that CSP drives conservation and is popular in the countryside with strong demand,” said Warthesen, “We have an opportunity to build a bigger and better CSP in the next farm bill with dedicated funding. The time to act is now.”

The Conservation Security Program Drives Resource Management: An Assessment of CSP Implementation in Five Midwestern States is the result of a project coordinated by the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, with collaborative partners Land Stewardship Project, Minnesota Project, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Illinois Stewardship Alliance and Missouri Rural Crisis Center.

For a full copy of the 38-page report see http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pdf/csp_report.pdf.

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PHOTO AVAILABLE: For a digital photo of farmers Brad and Leslea Hodgson, contact Adam Warthesen at adamw@landstewardshipproject.org.