Call Rep. Rodney Davis and Rep. Cheri Bustos Today!
The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is one of the most important conservation programs in the United States. Of the suite of Farm Bill conservation programs, CSP is the largest program in the Farm Bill, covering 72 million acres. Funded through the five year Farm Bill funding, CSP and other working lands programs incentivize farmers to adopt more sustainable practices on farm lands that stay in production. CSP is the only working lands program to support comprehensive, whole farm conservation by helping farmers and ranchers achieve and maintain high levels of stewardship that enable productivity while protecting the environment. Funding important practices such as resource conserving crop rotations, management intensive rotational grazing, and establishment of wildlife habitats provides tangible benefits to the environment like soil, air and water quality, climate change mitigation, and wildlife habitat and to farmers and their communities. Such practices can also deliver increased productivity and higher profits for farmers and provide diverse crops to local food systems.
CSP Faces Cuts
Despite the many benefits that CSP provides, it faces significant cuts or even elimination in the 2018 farm bill. The House version of the Farm Bill (H.R. 2) that is currently headed to Conference Committee to work out the dramatic differences between the House and Senate approaches to agriculture and conservation funding (see this report from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition for more details on the differences), eliminates the CSP program altogether, rolling just 30 percent of its funding into other working lands programs, and leading to $4.3 billion net reduction in working lands conservation funding over five years. The Senate version reduces CSP funding by $1 billion over 10 years but also proposes program improvements that could make each dollar go further. Improvements in the Senate version include emphasizing high-value practices such as resource-conserving crop rotations, cover crops, and management intensive rotational grazing. These are practices that are proven to improve soil health, reduce runoff, store carbon, and improve water quality.
Slashing or eliminating CSP funding would result in huge losses for Illinois farmers and wildlife over the next 10 years. A return on investment analysis (ROI) of the CSP program by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) shows that many farm states stand to lose critical funding for these important practices if the Conservation Stewardship Program is eliminated. As UCS points out “CSP targets high priority sustainability concerns and ensures we’re getting the most bang for our buck.” Based on this analysis, Illinois stands to lose $292,394,711 in conservation funding. That’s nearly $300 million that Illinois farmers can’t afford to lose and $300 million that won’t be going to protect Illinois water, restore Illinois soils and protect Illinois wildlife like threatened and endangered pollinators including the Monarch butterfly and native bees that are also critical to the sustainability of Illinois farms.
Take Action Now!
Call Illinois Representatives Rodney Davis and Cheri Bustos, who are appointed House Conferees, and ask them to stand up for CSP funding for Illinois and for conservation farming across the Midwest. Call Rep. Davis in his D.C. office at 202.225.2371 and Rep. Bustos at 202-225-5905 and ask to speak to the Agriculture staff or leave a message in support of full funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program and improvements that will make the program most effective.
