The Conservation Security Program (CSP) passed through the U.

Monday, November 26, 2001

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) passed through the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee in November as part of the 2001 farm bill.

Sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the bill is a virtual cornucopia of conservative incentives. It will reward farmers who voluntarily choose the best farming practices on their working lands – practices that will protect natural resources like drinking water, rivers and lakes, soil, wildlife and land.

Former U.S. Rep. David Minge said in a teleconference last week that the present system tends to pump money into corn and other commodities that benefit only the largest farms, encouraging overproduction that leads to lower prices, compromising the environment.

The CSP would reward all farmers who choose to farm in environmentally sustainable ways, he said.

Loni Kemp, Senior Policy Analyst with the Minnesota Project, a program dedicated to sustaining rural communities and protecting the environment, also took part in the teleconference.

&uot;In the face of an ever-expanding industrial agriculture we need a comprehensive program that provides incentives for producers to farm clean,&uot; she said. &uot;We need conservation incentives for working lands.&uot;

Kemp believes that the farm policy should encourage land stewardship and include renewable energy goals.

This is the first time, Minge said, that the Senate has included a clean energy program in the farm bill. It will include research, loans, grants and outreach programs to help farmers become partners in the nation’s change to renewable energy.

The bill would also provide, he said, financial incentives for farmers to develop wind and other power resources on their land.

Having passed the Senate Agriculture Committee, the bill will next be voted on by the full Senate then will go into a conference committee of the House and Senate and returned to each respective chamber for a final vote.