Please help to defend and help shape the best possible Conservation Security Program (CSP). Submit your personal comments by October 5, 2004

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) was the single biggest win for sustainable agriculture in the 2002 Farm Bill. It is a huge and innovative step forward in our nation’s approach to conservation, and holds great promise for rewarding farmers based on how they protect and improve the environment. There’s an estimated $8 billion dollars at stake in a fully funded, well-implemented CSP – in this federal farm program that recognizes for the first time that farmers and ranchers can produce quality food and fiber, while also producing fertile soil, clean water and water, healthy habitats, and even helping to mitigate global warming effects.

But the interim rule for CSP is so restrictive and biased that the program’s purpose and goals, and the intent of the law, are at risk.

Please help create a flood of comments to USDA, calling for a nationwide, open access, fully funded CSP.

How to Send Comments: It is always most effective to send a personalized letter, with key points in your own words and a personal story or comment. We know you’re busy, so we made it easy for you. From the website of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture you can cut and paste to create and submit your comments based on our sample letter.

Please take a few minutes to help defend the integrity of the sustainable agriculture movement’s biggest federal policy win by submitting your comments by October 5.

Please also download the action alert on our website and circulate it far and wide, put it out at your local farmers’ market, put it in CSA bags or boxes, take it to meetings and conferences.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING ACTION!

Below is the full text of an alert and sample letter that you can also find on our website.

National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture

ACTION ALERT

$8 Billion at Stake – Help defend the Conservation Security Program (CSP)

PLEASE submit comments to USDA by October 5th

Background

• Congress enacted the Conservation Security Program (CSP) in the 2002 Farm Bill.

• In January 2004, USDA issued a Proposed Rule governing CSP. Over 10,000 comments were received.

• In June 2004, USDA issued an Interim Final Rule, which resolved few of the deficiencies present in the Proposed Rule, while creating new concerns. The first signup just concluded in 18 watersheds.

• Public comments on the Interim Final Rule are due Oct. 5. The Final Rule will govern CSP in future years.

Importance of the Conservation Security Program (CSP)

The CSP was the single biggest win for sustainable agriculture in the 2002 Farm Bill. It is a huge, innovative step forward in our nation’s approach to conservation, and it holds great promise for rewarding farmers based on how they protect and improve the environment. As intended by Congress, CSP is to be a nationwide program available to all types of producers, in all regions of the country, with all types of conservation objectives.

The interim final rule for CSP is so restrictive and biased that the program’s purpose and goals are at serious risk. The Final Rule should make the CSP into the nationwide, accessible, and effective program intended by Congress to help farmers maximize their conservation performance-your comments will help.

How to Submit Comments –

It is always most effective to send a personal letter.

Please use the key points listed below in your own words with a personal story or comment.

Submit comments by e-mail to FarmBillRules (at) usda.gov ,
with Attn: Conservation Security Program on the subject line. OR review the rule and submit comments via http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp

(go to the heading Commodity Credit Corporation,
Title: Conservation Security Program.)

OR mail comments postmarked by Oct. 5 to:
Financial Assistance Programs Division,
Natural Resources Conservation Service, P.O. Box 2890,
Washington, DC 20013-2890.

KEY POINTS TO REDRESS MAJOR PROBLEMS
IN THE INTERIM FINAL RULE:

• Remove restrictions that limit enrollment to only a few watersheds and “categories” of farmers and ranchers.

• Expand eligible resource concerns to all types of conservation objectives.

• Eliminate the “per acre” cap on contract payments. It favors large farms over small farms and those with high land rents over those with lower rental rates even if those farms may be practicing less conservation.

• Expand enhancement payments to include the full range of options in the law, including crop rotations, rotational grazing, buffers, energy conservation, research, etc.

• Increase the cost-share rate for new practices.

• Remove requirements for a prior history of meeting high environmental standards, and instead require that high standards be met in a reasonable time after participating in the CSP.

SAMPLE LETTER – Submit Comments By October 5.

For details go to http://sustainableagriculture.net/Action Alerts

Craig Dickerson, Program Manager Financial Assistance Programs Division
Natural Resources Conservation Service
P.O. Box 2890
Washington, DC 20013-2890
RE: Comments on Conservation Security Program Interim Final Rule

Dear Mr. Dickerson:

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) is an important and innovative step forward in our nation’s approach to conservation and a critical new component of U.S. farm policy. CSP holds great promise for rewarding farmers based on how they protect and improve the environment. As intended by Congress, CSP should be nationwide program available to all types of producers, in all regions of the country, with all types of conservation objectives.

Conservation farmers provide many essential benefits to all Americans in the form of clean air, clean water, habitat and soil protection, and more. The CSP should recognize and reward actual conservation benefits produced by farmers on their farms and provide incentives for farmers to address and solve critical resource problems. As stated by the NRCS, ” In short, CSP should reward the best and motivate the rest.”

I urge you to ensure that CSP fulfills its promise. The following points are essential for CSP regulations to ensure implementation of CSP’s legislative intent:

1. Remove restrictions that now limit enrollment to only a few watersheds and certain “categories” of farmers and ranchers. CSP should be nationwide, without geographical restrictions. Participation in CSP should not be limited to particular watersheds.

2. Expand eligible resource concerns to all types of conservation objectives. Participation in CSP should include farmers and ranchers in all types of agriculture who are willing to commit to significant conservation practices. It should not be restricted to particular categories and subcategories of farmers and ranchers.

3. Eliminate the new “per acre” cap on contract payments. It favors large farms over small farms and those with high land rents over those with lower rental rates even if those farms may be practicing less conservation.

4. Expand enhancement payments to include the full range of options in the law, including crop rotations, rotational grazing, buffers, energy conservation, conservation and regeneration of plant and animal germplasm, environmentally sound management of invasive species, agro forestry practices, native prairie restoration, pollinator protection and enhancement, continued enhancement payments for on-farm/ranch research and demonstration activities and for on-farm/ranch assessment and evaluation activities.

5. Increase the cost-share rate for new practices.

6. Remove requirements for a prior history of meeting high environmental standards, and instead require that high standards be met in a reasonable time after participating in the CSP.

The CSP has not only the potential, but also the imperative, to provide farmers and ranchers with meaningful incentives and rewards for implementing comprehensive protection of the nation’s extremely valuable, natural resources.

Thank you for this opportunity to comment on this very important program.

Sincerely,

[your name]

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