Congress must demand a higher return for the environment in exchange for our more than $8 billion annual investment in agricultural subsidies. Maintaining the status quo is a risky over-reliance on largely voluntary measures that have and will fall short of keeping our waters clean.”
Agricultural pollution is a top cause of degraded rivers and lakes, and the federal government currently invests more than $8 billion annually in agricultural subsidies. Stacy James, Water Resources Scientist, wrote a letter to the editor in response to a Chicago Tribune editorial. Stacy’s letter calls for crop insurance subsidies to be linked to land-stewardship standards, particularly those that reduce pollution and erosion. Many farmers are already doing their part, thanks to a provision in the 1985 Farm Bill that requires farmers to reduce erosion and preserve wetlands in order to receive certain subsidies.
Now it’s time to update the Farm Bill to link crop insurance to conservation compliance. Read Stacy’s letter and the original editorial, “Congress should reign in crop insurance” to find out more.
