It's in There!

The 2002 Farm Bill was approved by both the House and Senate and President Bush signed it in a White House ceremony May 13. 

The Farmland Stewardship Program concept was included in the "Partnerships and Cooperation" section of the bill (Section 2003).

Several other related conservation priorities also were included in the bill.  For details, see Conservation Programs Now Address Needs of More Producers.

The Florida-developed Farmland Stewardship Program, sponsored by Rep. Adam Putnam, provides incentives for conservation on farm and ranchlands by encouraging better cooperation between different agencies and levels of government to coordinate and blend conservation initiatives.  It also allows for adjustments in these initiatives to better address conservation needs at the ground level.

The "Partnerships and Cooperation" section establishes "stewardship agreements" to carry out the purposes of the program.

A second section, Section 2005, directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a plan to eliminate redundancy, streamline program delivery and improve services provided to agricultural producers.  The Secretary is to report back to Congress with a plan that describes the means by which the Secretary intends to achieve these goals.  Field tests in Florida have shown that the Farmland Stewardship Program can achieve these goals -- and then some.  However, additional work will be required -- along with possible field tests in other states -- to demonstrate that the Farmland Stewardship Program concept will work in any local situation, not just in Florida.

Background

Summary language for the Farmland Stewardship Program was included as Sec. 256 of H.R. 2646, the farm bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Oct. 5, 2001.  This was based on legislation originally introduced as H.R. 2542 by Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida.

Expanded language -- which resulted from input offered by more than 30 people representing  farm organizations, commodities, conservation, environmental advocacy, sportsmen and state agency associations -- was included as Sec. 256 of the Lincoln-Hutchinson bill, S. 1673, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate on November 9.  

Language based on Sec. 256 of S. 1673 was under consideration during the farm bill conference committee negotiations to replace Sec. 256 in H.R. 2646, but every time the issue was brought up Senate democrats objected.

Sources close to the negotiations said that Senate democrats wanted to receive full credit for the conservation initiatives in the farm bill and, therefore, did not want to include any conservation initiatives from the House-passed farm bill.  The sole exception to this was Sen. Tom Daschle, who supported the program, but acceded to the opposition from Sen. Patrick Leahy and Senate Ag Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin.

Instead, the Senate included language in Sec. 2005, "Reform and Assessment of Conservation Programs," directing the Secretary to develop a plan to eliminate redundancy and improve conservation delivery, which is to be submitted to Congress by Dec. 31, 2005.

Sec. 2003, "Partnerships and Cooperation," includes language giving the Secretary authority to "adjust" program requirements to accommodate local needs;" however, this section is limited.  While it allows for cooperation with States, local government, Indian tribes and nongovernmental organizations, it only applies to federal conservation programs administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.  Other federal conservation programs are not included.  Also, the provisions of the section currently can be used only for "special projects" and in "priority areas."

Why Wasn't More Included?

Resistance by Senate democrats to accepting the Farmland Stewardship Program and all the concepts it embodies is hard to understand.  The Farmland Stewardship Program was developed from the ground up over a 9-year period (see history), with three years of consensus-building workshops between agricultural owners and operators, conservation interests and representatives of all levels of government.  

More than 500 people from around the country provided input.  Moreover, all the concepts and ideas developed through consensus were taken out and field tested in a project jointly funded by the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Environmental Protection Agency (see pilot project).  

This is why the program is able to address EVERY ONE of the weakness identified in a recent General Accounting Office report requested by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, which describes how USDA conservation programs can better address environmental concerns (see GAO report).

A lot of thought went into the Farmland Stewardship Program, from a lot of people in almost every region of the country, all with broad experience in implementing conservation programs from a multitude of agencies and levels of government, both from the sending (agency) and receiving (owner/operator) ends.

Deciding whether to include this program in the farm bill should have been an easy choice.  It already had demonstrated that it can eliminate redundancy and improve conservation delivery to the ground.

The language included in Secs. 2003 and 2005, while limited, is a very big step in the right direction.  And credit for inserting this language is due to Sen. Richard Lugar, the ranking minority member on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.  Hopefully, more can be done in the months ahead to incorporate ALL the concepts embodied in the Farmland Stewardship Program, as provisions in the farm bill are implemented.

In the meantime, it appears the legislative authority contained in Sec. 2003 will be more than sufficient to launch the projects where negotiations already are beginning with landowners.  For more details on these projects, check back to this page for regular updates.

Details about the Farmland Stewardship Program:

• Why the Farmland Stewardship Program concept is Important (program summary)

• 3 Examples of How it Will Work

• GAO Report Underscores Need for Farmland Stewardship Program

• Farmland Stewardship Program Basics -- Definition, Purposes, Eligible Lands, Sample Contract, the "Service Contract" Concept, Pre-Application Contract, Adjusting Existing Programs to Local Needs, Payments and Participation

Other Useful Information:

• 35 Reasons Why the Farmland Stewardship Program Will Make Existing Conservation Programs More Effective, More Efficient & Capable of Delivering More Money on the Ground 

• This Program is EXACTLY What We Need! (comments from a Minnesota dairy farmer)

• Why Do We Need This Program? (questions from a state conservation officer)

• This Program is EXACTLY What We Need - Part 2 (comments from an Upstate New York woodland owner)

• A Candid Assessment of the Farmland Stewardship Program and Conservation Security Program

• Answers to Concerns Expressed About the Farmland Stewardship Program

• How the Farmland Stewardship Program will help carry out the Administration's Objectives for the Farm Bill

• A List of Actions Being Taken in 10 States (and 2 Canadian Provinces) to Implement Concepts Embodied in the Farmland Stewardship Program

• How Information from 5 Regional Forums was Used in Developing the Farmland Stewardship Program 

• Simple and easy to understand.  Imagine signing up for multiple government programs with a 3-page contract.  Click here to view the proposed FSP contract.

Water quality concerns reported in the Feb. 10 New York Times also underscore importance of the Farmland Stewardship Program.  For details see New York Times water quality article.  The FSP could help resolve these problems by combining water quality programs from all agencies -- EPA's Sec. 319, the proposed Fishable Waters Act, USDA's EQIP, Army Corps of Engineers, etc. -- into a single, one-stop agreement tailored to the specific needs of each operation, that would be easy for producers everywhere to implement.