*SAMPLE TEXT TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS*
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Dear State Lawmaker,
Congress did a great thing in the 2008 Farm Bill when it created the Conservation Stewardship Program.
At its height, 72 million acres were enrolled—about 7 percent of all working lands in the U.S., including crop, forest, pasture and range land.
But, this doesn’t reflect the true potential of the program, as more than three-quarters of qualified farmers get shut out of the Conservation Stewardship Program every year.
The Conservation Stewardship Program zeroes in on the best way to draw excess carbon dioxide down from the atmosphere: helping farmers and ranchers improve soil health.
Congress got back on the right track with the Conservation Stewardship Act when they passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (https://www.eenews.net/articles/conservation-cuts-sink-in-as-2023-farm-bill-looms/) that reversed the 2018 Farm Bill’s reductions in CSP funding.
IRA investments in the Conservation Stewardship Program could increase the amount of carbon stored in working lands by about 70 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent per year by 2030.
Agriculture is responsible for 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions in the range of 700 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent per year. So, we’re talking 10 percent of 10 percent or 1 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. It seems small, but that’s the equivalent of taking about 16 million cars off the road.
If that figure were quadrupled, which it easily could be given that 4 times as many farmers have tried to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program, it would reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 4 percent—the same as taking 64 million cars off the road.
Increasing Conservation Stewardship Program spending is worth it just for the climate, but higher soil carbon also increases yields and makes food more nutritious.
Congress should quadruple funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program in the new Farm Bill, and while it’s at it, Congress should tighten up eligibility requirements.
Right now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is rewarding greenhouse gas polluting industrial farmers for what Bayer and the other agrochemical companies market as “precision agriculture.” What it amounts to is adjusting the nozzles on their pesticide sprayers and fertilizer applicators to make sure they use the “right” amount—with no promise they’ll use any less!
Conservation Stewardship Program money shouldn’t go to nozzle adjustment.
Please make the Conservation Stewardship Program your Farm Bill priority. If fully funded and done right, it’s one of the most promising climate change actions Congress could take.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your Name