one more chance to help prairies in the Farm Bill
- Subject: one more chance to help prairies in the Farm Bill
- From: G*@aol.com
- Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2002 22:37:35 EST
| If you haven't already contacted your senator to ask that the next Farm Bill encourage prairie protection instead of prairie destruction, here's one more chance. Word has it that just a moderate number of calls would be enough to pass the prairie amendment below, so this is a good opportunity.
A phone call is recommended because Senate offices vary in how much and how quickly they pay attention to email, and postal mail is still backed up because of the anthrax scare. The information below is from the Midwest Sustainable Ag Working Group. Please feel free to send it to other prairie enthusiasts and listserves. Thanks for your support for prairies! Cindy Hildebrand *** Just a few calls on a key Senate amendment would add protection for prairies in the pending Farm Bill! By February 8th, please call your senators and ask them to support the "Durbin grasslands amendment." Here’s how: * Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senator by name. * Ask to speak with the legislative aide who handles agriculture. * If you get voice mail, leave a short message. * If you have trouble getting through to offices in D.C., please call your Senator’s district office. You can find this number in the government pages of your local phone book. * Make sure the district office understands that they are to communicate your message to the D.C. office. More background on this Durbin amendment: Senator Durbin (D-IL) has filed and intends to offer an amendment to limit the negative impact of commodity and crop insurance subsidies on soil erosion, water quality, and wildlife habitat. The Durbin amendment would protect native prairie and other grasslands by denying farm commodity program and crop insurance subsidies on non-cropland converted to crop production in the future. The Durbin amendment is projected to save $1.4 billion, some or all of which is likely to be redirected to the food stamp program. The amendment is a common sense extension of existing law withholding taxpayer support to those who "sodbust" highly erodible land. The Durbin proposal would extend protection to all land without a crop production history, recognizing the important soil and wildlife benefits to be gained by keeping fragile lands intact. The amendment also would lessen incentives to increase production beyond levels supported by the market, reducing downward pressure on crop prices and farm income. The amendment is carefully crafted to cover land without a cropping history in at least one of the last five (or three of the past ten) years, while exempting land in long term rotations. The exemption is important to ensure there are no unintended consequences for farms and ranches using environmentally sound, grass-based systems with occasional or sequenced cropping. Please Call Both of Your Senators TODAY! Distributed by the Midwest Sustainable Ag Working Group, a coalition working for a system of agriculture that is economically profitable, environmentally sound, family-farm based, and socially just: msawg@aol.com For more on the Farm Bill, visit www.sustainableagriculture.net *** Cindy Hildebrand grantridge@aol.com Ames, IA  50010 |
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