US green groups see holes in farm stewardship plan

By Charles Abbott

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several U.S. land stewardship programs would be short-changed under a farm plan backed by House Agriculture Committee leaders, environmental and wildlife groups say.

Members of an Agriculture subcommittee were scheduled to consider the package on Tuesday. It would mothball the first "green payment" program for farmers and stall enrollment in wetland and grassland programs unless new funding is found.

"Clearly this is a proposal that will not enjoy much support on the floor of the House," said Scott Faber of Environmental Defense. The 2002 farm law expires this fall, so Congress must write a new farm bill this year.

Under the proposal unveiled last week by committee leaders, funding would double, to $2 billion a year for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which shares the cost of controlling runoff from fields and feedlots.

Funding also would climb sharply for the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, which preserves farmland from urban sprawl.

Some of the proposed spending for EQIP and land preservation would be drawn from a reserve fund that requires offsets elsewhere in spending -- a somewhat hollow promise, said Ralph Grossi, head of American Farmland Trust.

Grossi and Faber were leaders in efforts over the past two years to create a coalition for farm bill reform composed of green groups, fiscal hawks, specialty crop growers, small-farm activists and global development organizations.

There has been disagreement among reformers whether to attack grain, cotton and soybean subsidies or to focus on getting more money for land stewardship, to boost sales of fruits and vegetables and to expand public nutrition programs.

"My sense is (the coalition) is kind of shaky," said an official for a mainline farm group, because some of its members want more money and others who want large farm subsidy cuts.

Major elements of the proposal were:

--set EQIP funding at $2 billion a year if reserve funds can be used. Otherwise, funding would begin at $1.55 billion in fiscal 2008 and rise to $2 billion in fiscal 2012.

--No enrollment in Conservation Security Program through fiscal 2012. CSP rewards farmers to make soil, water and wildlife stewardship part of their daily operations.

--Wetlands Reserve enrollment can rise by 250,000 acres a year to 3.775 million acres if reserve funds are available. Otherwise, the cap is 2.275 million acres, which has been met.

--Grassland Reserve enrollment will remain at 2 million acres unless reserve funds will allow it to rise to 7 million acres.

--Farm and Ranchland Protection Program gets $300 million a year if reserve funds allow it. Otherwise, funding starts at $150 million in fiscal 2008 and reaches $300 million in fiscal 2012.

--Beginning farmers can use the final year of a Conservation Reserve contract to begin the transition to organic farming. Enrollment cap would remain 39.2 million acres for the reserve, which pays farmers to idle fragile land.