Today's Date:
The
following issue is EXTREMELY URGENT!
Please call our Senators today to ensure that conservation money is
included in the next Farm Bill!
The
Sierra Club opposes the “dirty” Farm Bill, H.R. 2646, recently passed
by the U.S. House of Representatives. This
bill threatens our air and water, unfairly subsidizes corporate
agribusiness, and fails to combat sprawl.
All
is not lost, however! The
Senate has a chance to reform this legislation and enact a new Farm Bill
that will protect the environment and our food supply, as well as reward
family farmers on working lands.
A
key component of a “cleaner” Farm Bill is the Conservation Security
Act, introduced by U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Gordon Smith
(R-OR). The Conservation
Security Act provides a comprehensive, flexible, voluntary approach to
farm conservation policy by providing incentive payments to farmers and
ranchers for maintaining or adopting conservation practices on land in
production.
And
YOU have a chance to make sure the Conservation Security Act is part of
the new Farm Bill!
¨
Recently,
the Conservation Security Act has come under severe attack by Senators who
want to switch funds that are proposed to be spent on conservation over to
even more “commodity program” payments.
Contact Senator Harkin and let him know he has support from Iowans
for this innovative approach to farm conservation policy, so he should not
back away from the conservation proposals he has made, nor should he
propose to weaken existing conservation programs in the face of Senate
opposition.
¨
Contact
Senator Grassley and tell him not to join the Senate opposition to the
Conservation Security Act. There
is still time for him to become a co-sponsor of this Act and to do the
right thing for the environment, for family farmers, and for the future of
Iowa.
Sample
Talking Points in Support of the Conservation Security Act
¨
I
am a member of the Sierra Club and I am calling to urge Senator Grassley
to co-sponsor the Conservation Security Act as a part of the new Farm
Bill. This Act represents a
model of farm spending that moves away from incentives for overproduction
and environmental degradation to a system that rewards farmers for
implementing conservation practices on working lands.
¨
I
am a member of the Sierra Club and I am calling to encourage Senator
Harkin to follow through with his farm conservation proposals, including
the Conservation Security Act, as he participates in the creation of a new
Farm Bill.
¨
The
Conservation Security Act establishes the Conservation Security Program, a
voluntary program that lets farmers select their level of conservation
performance and rewards them for real achievements, while providing
measurable environmental benefits for everyone.
¨
The
voluntary, flexible, site-specific conservation plans created under the
Conservation Security Act can help improve soil health and productivity;
improve and protect air and water quality; restore, conserve, and enhance
wetlands and wildlife habitat; and provide on-farm conservation and
regeneration of natural resources.
¨
The
CSA is intended to complement, not replace, other conservation programs
such as the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, and
Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
¨
Please
co-sponsor and continue to support the Conservation Security Act, an
innovative approach to farm conservation policy that can fundamentally
reform the way society supports farmers.
Contact
Senator Grassley and urge him to co-sponsor the Conservation Security Act.
Washington, DC: 202-224-3744
Contact
Senator Harkin and ask him not to renege on his conservation proposals.
Washington, DC: 202-224-3254
If
you want more information about the Conservation Security Act, please
email the Iowa Chapter at iowa.chapter@sierraclub.org
or call us at 515-277-8868. Please
contact our Senators as soon as possible, because action on the Farm Bill
could occur quickly. Thanks
for your help on this important conservation issue.
Explore, Enjoy, and Protect the Planet.
The Iowa Chapter Sierra Club was able to produce this educational alert with help from the Joyce Foundation and the Minnesota Project.
The
Iowa Chapter of
the Sierra Club © 2000
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