Ag Groups Testify on Conservation

james

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Posted by Cindy ? April 30th, 2012

Several farm organizations provided input last week on USDA conservation programs in the 2012 Farm Bill.

Among those who testified before the House Committee on Agriculture?s Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry was National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Garry Niemeyer of Illinois who spoke on behalf of a broad coalition of agricultural organizations, including the American Soybean Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Cotton Council, the National Farmers Union and the USA Rice Federation, all of which chose to directly support NCGA?s testimony.

?Our organizations have expressed support for the Title II framework in the 2012 Farm Bill that the Senate and House Agriculture Committees began developing last fall, which consolidates 23 conservation programs into 13 while maintaining the same tools that were available to farmers in the past,? Niemeyer, a farmer from Auburn, Illinois, explained in his testimony. ?Our growers are seeking simplification, flexibility, and consolidation in these programs, and we believe these goals are achieved in the Senate Agriculture Committee?s recent draft language.?


Niemeyer directly called for the continuation of popular, effective stewardship programs including the Environmental Quality Incentive Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program, noting that working lands programs play an essential role in meeting environmental goals and avoiding regulation. To achieve cost savings, Niemeyer also mentioned that farm groups are supportive of gradually reducing the Conservation Reserve Program cap from 32 million acres to 25 million acres while encouraging the most environmentally sensitive land to remain enrolled in the program.

More at http://precisionpays.com/2012/04/ag-groups-testify-on-conservation/
 
 
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