Two of Minnesota’s members of Congress — Betty McCollum of St. Paul and Keith Ellison of Minneapolis — were among more than 100 House Democrats who signed a letter this week urging the House Republican leadership to support making compliance with certain minimum conservation standards a requirement for farmers seeking government-subsidized crop insurance.
The letter anticipates House action on the long-stalled federal Farm Bill. A Senate-passed renewal of the Farm Bill would require the conservation compliance. A bill approved by the House Agriculture Committee in July did not include the compliance.
Read the Democrats’ letter. Read a 2012 newsletter column by Freshwater Society President Gene Merriam supporting a conservation compliance provision as a tool for preventing water pollution.