US: Conservation groups united around Farm Bill recommendations

“Once every five years, Congress has the opportunity to improve the sustainability and security of our nation's farms and ranches by providing support for private lands conservation programs,” said Alyssa Charney, Policy Specialist at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

“The need for more effective and better-resourced conservation programs is greater now than ever given the rising frequency and severity of extreme weather events. Farmers depend on federal conservation programs to help them improve soil health, protect water quality, and limit the impacts of drought and flooding. The groups that have signed on to these consensus recommendations, including the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, are therefore united in calling for an increase in Conservation Title funding to address agriculture's very real needs with real solutions. The next farm bill must not simply shuffle money around, robbing one program to support another. The consensus statement calls for comprehensive solutions and urges Congress to blaze a new path for conservation in the 2018 Farm Bill – one that adequately supports and respects our nation's food producers, wildlife, natural resources, and rural communities.”

For more information:
sustainableagriculture.net