Under the guidance of the Board of Directors, SWCS has continued its farm bill activities and is working with conservation coalition members to support the linking of conservation compliance provisions and crop insurance premium subsidies.
The farm bill conference committee has held its first meeting, and its stated goal is to complete negotiations by Thanksgiving. Aviva Glaser of the National Wildlife Federation reported that “During the first meeting of farm bill conferees, nine members spoke out in support of conservation compliance and/or sodsaver in their opening statements (or included in their written statements) and only two members spoke in opposition.”
This week SWCS Executive Director Jim Gulliford worked with former chiefs of the Soil Conservation Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to send a letter signed by all seven former chiefs who since 1985 have been responsible for the implementation of conservation compliance. In their letter they acknowledge the erosion control and wetland protection benefits that have resulted from compliance implementation. They encourage the committee, “As you take steps to modernize our farm safety net, we urge you to make sure that compliance provisions cover all income support, including eligibility for crop and revenue insurance premium subsidies.”
Find the entire text of the letter here.