Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): public-private partnerships

How the farm bill changes the future of climate and water conservation

By Callie Eideberg / Bio / Published: December 12, 2018

The Senate and House passed the 2018 farm bill in overwhelmingly bipartisan votes of 87-13 and 369-47, respectively. The bill is now headed to the White House to be signed into law before the end of the year.

In many ways, this farm bill conference report maintains the tradition of incremental improvement that has always defined farm bills. Big-ticket programs like the Conservation Reserve Program, Conservation Stewardship Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program will continue to garner headlines.

But the bill also takes important steps to begin to shape the future of conservation in this country. Many smaller provisions in the fully funded conservation title open the door to new approaches that address water quality and climate change challenges that aren’t bound by a single farm’s borders.

Here’s what farmers and environmentalists need to know about new focus areas and approaches in the farm bill’s conservation title.

Lake Erie cleanup efforts highlight need for market drivers

By Karen Chapman / Bio / Published: October 12, 2018

Every year, blue-green algae in Lake Erie impacts lake tourism and sometimes elevates concentrations of a toxin that can harm human health and impair drinking water. While multiple sources contribute to this nutrient-fueled problem, fertilizer runoff from farms is the largest.

Cleaning up the lake requires farmers’ active participation, and many agricultural conservation partnerships with farmers are underway in the Lake Erie basin. For example, the Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) helps farmers and landowners defray the costs of setting aside land and planting grasses or wildflowers, or creating wetlands to help capture and treat nutrients leaving the farm field.

Photo credit: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

The first wave of Lake Erie CREP contracts began to expire last month, highlighting a growing vulnerability for this conservation model: how to maintain conservation practices on marginal, less productive or flood-prone acres after the initial contract runs out.

This question is especially urgent for land in sensitive areas that provides disproportionately large ecosystem benefits like water filtration. Read More »

Posted in Coasts and Watersheds / Also tagged algae, algae bloom, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, farm bill, Lake Erie, Ohio, regional conservation partnership program, runoff, water quality | Read 1 Response

USDA newcomer Bill Northey has 3 big opportunities to scale ag resilience and productivity nationwide

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: March 22, 2018

In his new role at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Undersecretary Bill Northey will oversee agencies and programs that are vital to agricultural resilience and productivity, including the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Risk Management Agency. His portfolio will include crop insurance, conservation, disaster assistance and producer lending services.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with Northey and have appreciated his collaborative approach, which I think will be an asset to USDA in pursuing gains in productivity and conservation.

As he leads ag sustainability efforts at USDA, Northey has three big opportunities to scale conservation and productivity innovations nationwide. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged Conservation Practice Standards, Conservation Technical Assistance, farm bill, regional conservation partnership program, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Undersecretary Bill Northey, USDA, USDA NRCS | Comments are closed

$1 million USDA award expands public-private partnerships for ag sustainability

By Shelby Shelton / Bio / Published: February 14, 2018

A collaboration between Smithfield Foods and Environmental Defense Fund has reduced fertilizer loss and improved soil health on more than 400,000 acres in the regions where Smithfield sources feed grain. That acreage is set to grow thanks to a new USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) award of $1,080,000.

The RCPP project will expand Smithfield’s ongoing grain sustainability efforts in North Carolina and scale up the program in Iowa, providing additional opportunities for farmers interested in improving their operations. Participating farmers will be supported by the combined efforts of 16 partner organizations, which include producer groups, government agencies, universities and nonprofits. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged farm bill, iowa, North Carolina, RCPP, regional conservation partnership program, Smithfield Foods, soil health, supply chain sustainability, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA | Comments are closed

The next farm bill can jump-start agricultural conservation. Here’s how.

By Callie Eideberg / Bio / Published: October 24, 2017

An Ohio farmer uses the latest agricultural technology.

Precision agriculture technology can accelerate on-farm conservation, including nutrient management. (Photo: John Rae)

Benjamin Franklin, an experimental farmer and author of Poor Richard’s Almanac, once said that in order to succeed, you must jump as quickly at opportunity as you do at conclusions.

The 2018 farm bill is an opportunity for agriculture policy to champion locally led projects, new ideas and entrepreneurship. Such policies can move the needle on conservation outcomes with relatively minimal investment from the federal government. So let’s jump quickly.

In the face of a changing climate, growing population and complex macroeconomic shifts, agricultural resiliency is more important than ever. We need to protect water quality, address climate impacts, establish species habitat and maintain farm profitability. Government alone can’t accomplish these goals. But smart policies can catalyze investments and innovations that do. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged farm bill, RCPP, regional conservation partnership program, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senator Joni Ernst, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA | Comments are closed

Why Sonny Perdue should prioritize these 3 farm programs

By Callie Eideberg / Bio / Published: April 24, 2017

Sonny Perdue will now lead the United States Department of Agriculture The U.S. Senate will confirm the Secretary of Agriculture today, empowering former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to lead an agency with a $155 billion budget, some 100,000 employees and ultimate responsibility for our nation’s food security.

Over 80 percent of this budget goes toward farm programs, food stamps, school meals and other mandatory spending programs. The remainder goes to protect farmers’ livelihoods, rural economies and the environment – but according to the Administration’s budget proposals, this pot of funding could be cut by over 21 percent.

Retaining current funding levels for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – and conservation programs in particular – ensures that farmers can remain productive during periods of extreme weather, protects habitat for wildlife without sacrificing profitability and improves on-farm efficiencies.

Secretary Perdue will need to advocate on behalf of farmers to protect these programs – and he’ll need help from the private sector, since the federal government alone cannot maintain farming as a core industry in America, make sustainable agriculture the norm or feed a growing population.

Here are three programs that provide widespread benefits – and that should be a top priority for the new Secretary. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, confirmation, confirmation hearing, conservation, Conservation Reserve Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, cover crops, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, farm bill, food production, NRCS, pollution, profitability, Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, sustainability, USDA, water quality, Working Lands for Wildlife | Comments are closed

Will Trump’s victory defeat the environment? It’s time to rally around shared values

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: November 16, 2016

Like all Americans, I woke up on November 9 to a new reality: A few more Democrats in Congress, and yes, a President-elect who promised to dismantle our nation’s core environmental protections.

Though the overwhelming majority of rural counties voted for Donald Trump, I do not believe they voted to increase air and water pollution or jeopardize wildlife.

We live in amazing times. Compared to 40 years ago, our environment is healthier, even as our economy has grown 300 percent.

But 40 years is a long time ago, and it’s easy to forget that progress didn’t happen overnight. It took Republican and Democratic administrations to put our bedrock environmental protections in place so the rules laid out in them could be enforced. These laws include:

A wildlife protection act that brought our national symbol, the bald eagle, back from the brink of extinction.
A clean air act that has helped to reduce smog and acid rain that was threatening our children’s health and killing our forests.
A water quality act that has cleaned up our rivers so they may never catch fire again. (Yes, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was so polluted that it ignited in 1969.)

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged America, bipartisan, conservation, donald trump, election, environment, farmers, fertilizer use, habitat, habitat exchanges, market-based, Nevada, pollution, protection, public health, ranchers, stewardship, sustainability, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, water quality, wildlife | Comments are closed

Public funding for ag research has plummeted. Is that a bad thing?

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: April 26, 2016

Cover crop demonstration at the 2013 Soil Health Expo, hosted by NRCS and the Univ. of MO. Credit: Curators of the University of Missouri

Public sector funding for agricultural research is flat lining. While public dollars used to be the primary source of support for ag research, that is no longer the case. Today, the private sector spends as much on agricultural research as the government does, according to USDA. Long-term growth in funding for ag research is also higher in the private sector.

As a recent DTN story noted, “Some skeptics say the need for public research is overblown, that private companies — seed, chemical and machinery — already provide a large pile of dollars.”

Are the skeptics right?

Public and private ag research funding don’t always have the same goals, and they play very different, but equally important roles. Here’s an overview of what each sector contributes, how they relate, and why we need to continue advocating for and supporting investments from both sectors – as well as public-private partnerships. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, agriculture research, climate change, corn, environmental defense fund, farmers, nitrogen, precision agriculture, research funding, soil health, USDA, water quality | Read 1 Response