WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2013- Leaders of bird conservation groups Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever sent a letter today to the president and congressional leaders asking them to finish a five-year farm bill as soon as possible.
With the expiration of the 2008 farm bill extension, they noted that farm bill conservation programs like the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program and Grasslands Reserve Program are now closed for enrollment.
“Consumers may not feel the full consequences of a lapsed farm bill before January, but conservation felt it immediately,” they wrote.
The conservation leaders specifically requested that a five-year farm bill be completed with a conservation title that includes re-coupling compliance to crop insurance and a national Sodsaver program.
“From 2006 to 2011, 1.3 million acres of grassland were converted to cropland in the Great Plains,” the letter noted. “We could be recreating the dust storms of the 1930s without the conservation programs in the farm bill that encourage private landowners to maintain the grasses and prairie habitat that prevent erosion.”
For the entire letter, click here.
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