For Immediate Release
American Farmland Trust Applauds
Senate Passage of the 2012 Farm Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 21, 2012 -- American Farmland Trust
<http://www.farmland.org/> (AFT) today hailed the passage of the Senate
farm bill, and urged Congress to retain funding for conservation as the
legislation moves through the House of Representatives. The U.S. Senate
passed the farm bill by a bipartisan vote of 64 to 35.
AFT President Jon Scholl said, "Congratulations are due to Chairman Debbie
Stabenow and Ranking Member Pat Roberts for their diligence in crafting this
farm bill and moving it through the Senate under extremely difficult
circumstances. Completing the farm bill this year is essential to continue
the gains we've made to protect America's working farmlands. We urge the
House to follow suit in passing this critical legislation."
AFT is also extremely pleased that the Chambliss amendment to reattach
conservation compliance to crop and revenue insurance was adopted. "Since
1985, compliance has been a successful part of farm policy," noted Scholl.
"As crop and revenue insurance becomes the core of agriculture's financial
safety net, we need to retain the same commitment to conservation that has
been a part of past farm programs."
Scholl added, "We appreciate how Senators Stabenow and Roberts have
cooperated in bipartisan fashion to move the bill forward." AFT has worked
extensively with Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Kansas Senator Pat
Roberts, the Committee's senior Republican, on a number of priority reforms
to conservation programs in the farm bill.
We particularly applaud the inclusion of the new agricultural land easement
component, patterned after the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP),
which now includes many of the functions of the Grasslands Reserve Program,
as well. Agricultural land easements will work through state and local
partners to provide permanent protection to working agricultural lands. AFT
further noted that the Senate adopted by unanimous consent language offered
by Senators Michael Bennett (D-Colo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) that
specifically supports the role of land trusts and state agencies who work
with USDA in protecting farm and ranch lands through this program.
Another priority for AFT has been the Regional Conservation Partnership
Program, which allows conservationists and agricultural producers to address
priority natural resource concerns in critical areas, especially acute water
quality and quantity concerns.
"All together, these reforms in the title provide more comprehensive and
efficient tools for conservation - while also providing an important step
toward deficit reduction. Overall, the Senate farm bill contributes $23
billion in deficit reduction over 10 years. More than one-quarter of the
spending cuts, however, result from program reforms and reductions to
programs in the Conservation Title," said Scholl.
Scholl stated that conservation programs "have shouldered a significant
share of cuts to aid deficit reduction," noting that that the health of
America's soil and water, which relies upon these programs, is essential to
the long term productivity and economic viability of agriculture.
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