The Green Giant : Conservation Policies of the 2008 Farm Bill

Rural Realities is published by the Rural Sociological Society, Brigham Young University, 2019 JFSB, Provo, Utah 84602 [email protected] http://www.ruralsociology.org • The farm bill creates dual incentives for both crop production and conservation. Frequently, these two goals pull in opposite directions; subsidies lead farmers to focus on crops that depend heavily on water, contribute to run-off, or tax the land in other ways. • The 2008 farm bill incorporated several new conservation measures. Policymakers approved cellulosic ethanol research provisions; increased mandatory conservation funding; expanded incentives for farmers to institute conservation efforts on active, rather than set-aside, lands; and enhanced funding for fruit and vegetable crop producers, cooperative conservation projects, and sustainable and organic agriculture research. • Many groups pushed for “green payments” in the 2008 farm bill to reward farmers for protecting soil, water, and biodiversity rather than producing commodity crops. The spike in gas prices and the push toward corn-based ethanol, however, made this proposed course of action less appealing to policymakers by the time the bill was passed. • The debate over the 2012 bill will begin in earnest in 2010. Suggestions for improving “green” policies include paying farmers for conservation efforts on working lands; maintaining the Conservation Reserve Program; capping payments for farm subsidies; advancing cellulosic ethanol technology and other “second generation” biofuels; increasing the focus on cooperative conservation projects; and providing more support for beginning and limited-resource farmers. The Green Giant: Conservation Policies of the 2008 Farm Bill By Nadine Lehrer ��������� �����