Every five years, a massive federal Farm Bill allocates tens of billions of dollars to food programs for the poor, subsidies to farmers producing many crops, a fast-growing crop insurance program and incentives for farmers to practice conservation.
The Freshwater Society is joining the Izaak Walton League of America in planning and organizing a Monday, Aug. 22, forum in West St. Paul that will focus on the next Farm Bill to be considered by Congress. The event at the Dakota Lodge in Thompson Park is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.
Learn about the Farm Bill, scheduled to be re-authorized by Congress next year or perhaps in 2013, and prospects for changes in it in an era of high commodity prices and demands for reduced federal spending. Offer your input for how the bill should be changed.
The conservation components of the Farm Bill are vitally important to protecting water and soil. At a forum in Kansas City, part of a five-state series of conferences that the Minnesota forum will conclude, Brad Redlin, the Izaak Walton League’s national agricultural programs director, said conservation payments in the current Farm Bill help:
- Prevent the erosion of 450 million tons of top soil each year.
- Keep 170,000 miles of streams cleaner than they otherwise would be.
- Prevent 480 million tons of carbon dioxide from escaping into the atmosphere each year.
Redlin will lead the Minnesota forum.
The Freshwater Society is one of several conservation groups, farm organizations and state agencies helping the Izaak Walton League plan and organize the conference. Learn more about the forum.