Food, Conservation & Energy Act of 2008 ( FoConE ?)

1. Food, Conservation & Energy Act of 2008 (FoConE?) Title II: Conservation Andy Seidl, Colorado State University

2. Title II: Conservation Working lands, Preservation & Reserve Programs

3. Preservation & Reserve Programs • Preservation: • Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP) • Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) • Reserve: • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) • Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) • Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) • NRCS programs except CRP (FSA): http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2008/index.html • http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2008/ataglance.html • General eligibility: <$1 million gross nonfarm income OR >2/3 of income from farming.

5. Producer Policy Priorities

6. Preservation & Reserve Programs: Context • Do not appeal to ‘environmental ethic’; people react to incentives. • Typically are authorized/appropriated $$, not mandatory. • Preservation Programs: • Stewardship of public goods attributes of agriculture. • More popular when ag prices are low. • Can be at cross-purposes with ‘working lands’ and ‘commodity’ programs. • ‘Green box’ under WTO environmental norms. • Reserve Programs: • Supply management. • Popular when ag prices are low; Not popular currently. • Consistent with preservation program and Title I objectives. • ‘Green box’ under WTO structural adjustment norms. • Are INELIGIBLE for new Cooperative Conservation provisions.

7. Preservation Programs • Conservation easement driven • Goal is to maintain public goods attributes of private lands stewardship. • Some call for consolidation under “Private Lands Protection” program. • Landowner voluntarily agrees to a deed restriction and/or landscape restoration in exchange for compensation. • Can be permanent or term. • Federal tax deduction for donated easements extended through 2009.

8. Producer Preferences for Preservation

9. Farm and Ranch Lands Preservation Program (FRPP) • Where to go: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/frpp/ • Authorized as FPP in 1996. • FRPP as of 2002. • 533 thousand acres enrolled to date. • Currently, $97 million/yr (authorized), $50 million appropriated. • Provides match of up to 50% of fair market easement value to local govt’s or NGOs for easement purchases.

10. FRPP: New for 2008 • $773 million total authorized budget over bill. • Ramping to $200 million authorized annual budget. • “Protecting topsoil” becomes “protecting agricultural use and related conservation values of the land.” • Allows for longer term agreements with cooperators (5 yrs if certified, 3 yrs if not). • Certification process made easier. • Secretary does not purchase easements, rather facilitates their purchase. • Secretary may require enforcement provisions in the easement that are not subject to Federal land acquisition standards.

12. Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program • Where to go: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/ • Technical and financial assistance to improve wildlife habitat. • Not as focused on working landscapes, more on supplemental or alternative land management. • Currently $40 million annual program. • 5-10 yr agreements. • Focused in NE and West Coast.

13. WHIP: New for 2008 • Non-ag, state, county and local public lands now INELIGIBLE. • Private ag, Non-industrial private forest, tribal lands are ELIGIBLE. • Pivot corners and other irregular areas are ELIGIBLE. • 25% of funds (up from 15%) are for long term (>15 yr) agreements. • Priority to state, regional and national conservation objectives. • Authorized at $85 million per year. • Payment cap of $50K per year.

15. Reserve Programs • Based on long term contracts and cost-share agreements for technical assistance. • Originally a supply control measure. • Take fragile/targeted lands out of production, therefore out of economy. • Targeted lands have significant public good attributes and relatively low private benefits in agricultural production.

16. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP/CREP) • Where to go: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=copr&topic=crp • Established 1985 to prevent soil erosion and control crop supply. • Annual rental payments based on the agricultural rental value of the land. • 10-15 yr rental contracts. • Focused in Great Plains. • ‘Green box’ under WTO structural adjustment criteria. • Now, 37 million acres enrolled, more emphasis on environmental side. • 15 million acres expired in 2007, 12 million re-enrolled through REX program. • 12.5 million additional acres due to expire by 2010.

17. CRP: New for 2008 • Authorizes 39.2 million acres for 2009 • 32 million acres 2010-2012 • CREP waiver of 25% hot spot limits. • Purpose expanded to include broader scale conservation initiatives • Cropping history requirement 4 of 6 yrs, 2002-2007. • Payment limit of $50K per year. • Allows existing contract adjustments (2 yrs extra payments) if transferring to special status farmers and ranchers. • Exceptions for biofuel production, wind turbines and some grazing (with payment reductions). • Farmable wetland program (FWP) expanded. • Eligible acreage definition loosened. • 1 million acre limit, 100,000 per state.

19. Producer Preferences for the CRP

20. Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP/WREP) • Where to go: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp/ • Established 1990 • Goal: Max wetland function, value and wildlife habitat on enrolled acres. • 2002: Reauthorized to max of 2,275 million acres. • 2007: 1,837,671 acres & annual enrollment of 250,000 acres. • Tends to focus in Florida, California and Mississippi River Basin. • 3 enrollment options: • Permanent easement, pays up to 100% of easement value and restoration costs • 30 yr easement, 75% each • Restoration Cost-Share agreement, 75% of restoration costs.

21. WRP: New for 2008 • Expands to 3.041 million acres (up by 766,200 acres) and $1.3 billion. • Establishes WREP. • Establishes payment schedule based on size of easement value (+/- $500K) • Establishes similar process for determining easement value as other preservation programs. • Land that has changed ownership within past 7 yrs is INELIGIBLE. • $50K annual cap on restoration payments.

23. Grasslands Reserve Program • New in 2002. • Currently, 250 easements covering 115,000 acres. • Restores and protects grassland, rangeland, pastureland and shrub land. • Emphasizes support for working grazing operations.

24. GRP: New for 2008 • Adds 1.22 million acres and $300 million in new authorized funding. • Allows for short term contracts, easements and cooperative agreements. • Permanent easements. • 10, 15, 20 yr rental contracts. • 50% cost share restoration agreements • Provides priority for expired CRP acres. • Limit 10% of total enrolled acres per year. • Eligible land expanded to those with historical or archeological resources or that meet state, regional or national conservation priorities. • Requires grazing management plan. • Same easement requirements as FRPP. • $50K annual payment limit.

26. Preservation and Reserve Programs: Summary • Shorter term agreements are more often allowed. • Some increases in authorized funding. • Some increases in local control, not state block grants. • ‘issues raised by state, regional and national conservation initiatives.’ • 3rd party certification process and appraisal process streamlined. • No revolutionary changes. • Continued trend toward working lands programs and away from preservation programs. • Greater flexibility for farmers & ranchers may increase popularity of programs, but may also decrease long term effectiveness in achieving environmental goals.