blake
Life Member
U.S. must reshape the CRP
Article by Rep. Steven King
Twenty years ago, when Iowa was in the middle of the farm crisis, a visitor to main street Iowa would have had a hard time finding someone who opposed the concept of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
We were in a crisis and in no condition to weigh the long-term implication of a farm program that took the majority of the acres in some townships out of production.
Today, that same visitor to the same main streets in Iowa will be hard pressed to find someone who totally supports CRP.
CRP flawed
The evidence of the flaw in a short term solution to the farm crisis is written all over main street Iowa. Hundreds of businesses have closed. Families have moved to greener pastures, and the services that sprung up to serve our working farm families have closed to follow the money---and the money followed the landowners in retirement to Texas, Florida and Arizona, where their economies have prospered. Almost 1 million acres of Iowa's CRP lands will retire from U.S. Department of Agriculture contracts in the next several years. I'm working to introduce a new "managed grazing" option for farmers that offers not only the incentive to maintain the conservation benefits of the CRP program, but will reverse the economic devastation that CRP has wrought on our rural economies.
CRP could continue to be an option for farmers, and this initiative would be in addition to or an enhancement to the current Grasslands Reserve Program. In addition, it has the promise to be less expensive than CRP for the taxpayer.
Time to revive livestock
This new option entails enrolling the land into an incentive program dedicated to keeping acreage in grassland for grazing.
Landowners and livestock producers can realize more dollars per acre than CRP by converting land into pasture for cattle or other livestock. In some cases, it may be more profitable than row-crop production, and this money would flow into the local economy.
The managed grazing program would bring cows back to counties that have lost almost 50 percent of the cattle they had before the counties reached the maximum 25 percent CRP enrollment.
Consequently, it would revive livestock-related industries in our towns, such as feed dealers, veterinarians and farm-supply stores.
Iowa grasslands are among the most sensitive to erosion in the nation, and it's essential to continue and enhance the environmental improvements gained from the CRP program.
Benefits
A grasslands alternative would benefit soul conservation, water quality, soil quality, carbon sequestration, livestock production and wildlife.
Key elements of the proposal include incorporation of paddock-style grazing systems to allow rotational grazing for the land to recuperate, and fencing cattle out of ponds and creeks to reduce bank erosion and enhance water quality in streams.
One issue looms large for communities that rely on agriculture. We need our young people to stay in our communities to farm and raise families.
Therefore, we must adopt a program that entices young people back into agricultural careers, but also one that gives them an incentive to break into an expensive industry.
King is a farmer from Kiron, Iowa and represents Iowa's Fifth Congressional District. He is also a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.
Article by Rep. Steven King
Twenty years ago, when Iowa was in the middle of the farm crisis, a visitor to main street Iowa would have had a hard time finding someone who opposed the concept of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
We were in a crisis and in no condition to weigh the long-term implication of a farm program that took the majority of the acres in some townships out of production.
Today, that same visitor to the same main streets in Iowa will be hard pressed to find someone who totally supports CRP.
CRP flawed
The evidence of the flaw in a short term solution to the farm crisis is written all over main street Iowa. Hundreds of businesses have closed. Families have moved to greener pastures, and the services that sprung up to serve our working farm families have closed to follow the money---and the money followed the landowners in retirement to Texas, Florida and Arizona, where their economies have prospered. Almost 1 million acres of Iowa's CRP lands will retire from U.S. Department of Agriculture contracts in the next several years. I'm working to introduce a new "managed grazing" option for farmers that offers not only the incentive to maintain the conservation benefits of the CRP program, but will reverse the economic devastation that CRP has wrought on our rural economies.
CRP could continue to be an option for farmers, and this initiative would be in addition to or an enhancement to the current Grasslands Reserve Program. In addition, it has the promise to be less expensive than CRP for the taxpayer.
Time to revive livestock
This new option entails enrolling the land into an incentive program dedicated to keeping acreage in grassland for grazing.
Landowners and livestock producers can realize more dollars per acre than CRP by converting land into pasture for cattle or other livestock. In some cases, it may be more profitable than row-crop production, and this money would flow into the local economy.
The managed grazing program would bring cows back to counties that have lost almost 50 percent of the cattle they had before the counties reached the maximum 25 percent CRP enrollment.
Consequently, it would revive livestock-related industries in our towns, such as feed dealers, veterinarians and farm-supply stores.
Iowa grasslands are among the most sensitive to erosion in the nation, and it's essential to continue and enhance the environmental improvements gained from the CRP program.
Benefits
A grasslands alternative would benefit soul conservation, water quality, soil quality, carbon sequestration, livestock production and wildlife.
Key elements of the proposal include incorporation of paddock-style grazing systems to allow rotational grazing for the land to recuperate, and fencing cattle out of ponds and creeks to reduce bank erosion and enhance water quality in streams.
One issue looms large for communities that rely on agriculture. We need our young people to stay in our communities to farm and raise families.
Therefore, we must adopt a program that entices young people back into agricultural careers, but also one that gives them an incentive to break into an expensive industry.
King is a farmer from Kiron, Iowa and represents Iowa's Fifth Congressional District. He is also a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.
