Envisioning the Future of Conservation

Remarks by Bruce I. Knight, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service

at Farm Foundation Round Table
“Sustainable Agriculture, Land Use and Resources in Conflict”

Portland, OR
June 17, 2005


Thank you, Carol [Keiser]. It is a pleasure to be here today to talk about conservation in 2005 and where we’re headed.

President Theodore Roosevelt expressed my views on the importance of conservation nearly a century ago when he said, “There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country.”

For me, there can be no more worthwhile mission than we have at the Natural Resources Conservation Service: providing leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.

This year NRCS is celebrating its 70th anniversary. We’ve been a partner in conservation since 1935. That’s seven decades of helping people help the land.

This anniversary year is a good opportunity to celebrate the durable nature of the Conservation Partnership and to make farmers and ranchers and their city cousins more aware of the benefits of conservation on private lands.

Implementing the 2002 Farm Bill
In 2005, we’re into the third year of the 2002 farm bill. This bill:

• doubled funding for conservation programs,
• re-focused conservation on working lands,
• demanded accountability, and
• rewarded stewardship.
   

And NRCS has been busy delivering on the promise of increased investment in conservation made by the 2002 bill.

Over the last three years, we have:

• Invested billions of additional dollars in conservation.
• Written or revised rules for farm bill programs based on input from thousands of producers and partners.
• Implemented new programs.
• Involved many new partners in conservation.
• Established the Technical Service Provider process to help producers plan and implement their conservation activities, and
• Conducted extensive outreach to be sure every farmer and rancher knows about farm bill opportunities.
   

We’re not finished yet. We have a lot of conservation to do this year and in the future. Between today and expiration of the current farm bill, we will invest about $9 billion in conservation. That represents a tremendous amount of work for us, for our partners, and especially for farmers and ranchers.

I’ve told our staff that implementing the 2002 farm bill programs is job one.

We need to maximize our performance. We need to complete unfinished work from 2003 and 2004: look at older contracts, and get them done.

We need to:

• maximize our effectiveness,
• sign the largest number of contracts,
• benefit as many producers as possible,
• buy as much conservation as we can, and
• bring on as much technology and advanced information as we can
• assure the integrity of the conservation goals
• make the programs and services we offer as transparent as possible.
   

Cooperative Conservation
One of the keys to the 2002 farm bill, and I believe, the next farm bill, is cooperative conservation. Last August, President Bush signed an Executive Order on Cooperative Conservation, asking Federal agencies to work in partnership with the American people to protect this Nation’s environment.

From August 29-31, the White House will host a Cooperative Conservation Conference in St. Louis. The goal is to facilitate the exchange of information and advice on ways we can work together—at all levels of government—in concert with communities and landowners to enhance and protect the environment.

NRCS will be part of that conference—as will other USDA agencies—and other departments including Interior, Defense, Commerce and EPA. Most importantly, many of you, our customers, will be part of this conference.

This is the first cooperative conservation conference in about 40 years. Only three similar national conferences have been held—President Teddy Roosevelt held the first. President John Kennedy held the second. And Lady Bird Johnson, President Lyndon Johnson’s wife, hosted the third. We are looking forward to this conference as a special opportunity to foster relationships and forge alliances that will enable us to move forward in voluntary conservation activities.

2007 Farm Bill Predictions
As we look ahead, the major topic on everyone’s mind today is the 2007 farm bill. It seems everyone either wants to know what’s going to be in the next farm bill—or thinks they already know! And groups all across the country are lining up to either put in their two cents—or get their two cents!

Before I share my two cents with you, I want to give you a little test. See if you can guess who made these comments:

“Commodity programs can be eliminated in the next farm bill.”
-- Ken Cook, Environmental Working Group

“The next farm bill will render commodity programs unchanged.”
-- Otto Doering, Purdue University

“The next farm bill should amend the Grassland Reserve Program that functions like national parks or preserves. The next farm bill should institute a new concept called ‘green payments.’”
-- EPA economist in the April SWCS Journal

“The next farm bill will amend the green payment programs already administered by USDA.”
-- Congressional Research Service

No surprise—to any of us—people are all over the map. And to separate useful information from the chaff is virtually impossible at this time.

If you want to know what the next farm bill is going to look like, you can believe any one—or none—of those folks. Or you can rely on your own crystal ball. Or whatever prognosticator you choose.

Listening Sessions
Nevertheless, discussions are beginning. Secretary Johanns announced yesterday the first of a number of listening meetings. It will be in Nashville on July 7. There will be more because I know he wants to reach out to as many states as possible.

The Secretary wants to hear directly from producers and agribusinesses—well in advance of Congressional debate and dialogue. In announcing the listening sessions, the Secretary said, “I do not begin this process with preconceived notions about the direction future farm policy should take. We will use the feedback we receive to help us determine the best course for a new farm bill.”
The listening sessions will focus on a variety of topics, including conservation. We want to know how to:

• Maximize U.S. competitiveness
• Minimize unintended consequences
• Effectively and fairly distribute assistance to producers
• Best achieve conservation and environmental goals
• Provide effective assistance in rural areas, and
• Address agricultural product development, market and research
   

When it comes to conservation, we may hear some general themes or tenets, building on past farm bills. The 1996 farm bill broached the theme of working lands conservation—and that became a central tenet of the 2002 bill. The current farm bill significantly expanded the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and rounded out the conservation portfolio with the Conservation Security Program.

Expected Themes for 2007
If I had to guess what Secretary Johanns may hear from our customers at the upcoming listening sessions, it would be something like this: “You have so many different conservation programs, I’m confused. Make them simpler. Give me one application for all the programs. Focus on working lands, but streamline your programs.”

We know we need to have programs that are holistic, better integrated and more transparent.
That’s an important consideration as we look to 2007.

We also know the next farm bill should be in tune with the President’s management agenda. It should focus on outcome-based measures—specific results—not miles of streams buffered or acres of land treated.

Can we show we’ve improved water quality? Can we demonstrate we’ve made a difference for endangered and at-risk species? Can we demonstrate that voluntary incentives and actions are a viable alternative to regulatory approaches?

If I had a chance to influence key thinkers in the ag community, I would encourage them to give critical thought to what creative and innovative approaches we need in conservation programs and policies to benefit agriculture and the American public in the future.

“We’ve always done it that way” is not sufficient reason to continue a conservation program, [olicy or priority.

Facing the Future
I’ve spent two decades working on farm policies. This will be my fifth farm bill. Many of you have been involved that long or longer. My personal observation is that farm policy is evolutionary—not revolutionary.
As one of the greenest Republican you’ll probably ever meet, I believe in the inherent value of conservation. Protecting and preserving resources is the right thing to do. Conservation is integral to good stewardship of working lands. And it’s compatible with productivity and the economics of today’s agriculture.

So, I confess, I welcome backing for conservation from any quarter. But I have to wonder how deep the roots of support go among some newfound converts. Do they have an ongoing commitment to building terraces, restoring wetlands and addressing invasive species? Are they focused on accountability—measurable results—for conservation dollars spent? Or is their real focus something else entirely?

Returning to Our Roots
As we look toward the next farm bill, I think we need to respond to the concerns we’re hearing already about the complexity of the conservation programs we administer. We need to simplify and streamline our programs. We need to simplify and streamline the application process. The CSP self-assessment tool is one step in that direction.

Also, we need to examine carefully the role of NRCS. Historically, our core business has been knowledge-based conservation. I believe we’ll see a trendline back to that. The future will be more about technical assistance than dollars shared.

We need to work with the “quality of life” farmers—those on small farmsteads who are making their living—or have already made it—in some business other than farming. They need to know how to conserve the land.

We also need to address the conservation needs of production agriculture—rapidly paced, highly efficient, increasingly consolidated family farms. Conservation is integral to these folks—and they control our nation’s landmass. Conservation and economic sustainability are compatible.

Delivering Services
As you just heard, NRCS has a varied customer base, and it’s getting larger. And we need to deliver our services in a variety of ways.

Many of our customers are getting more and more of their information and their services through the Internet. We need to serve them effectively.

We put the CSP self-assessment workbook on the web. We also made it available on disk and on paper.

Today, you can get a copy of your county soil survey in a telephone book format. Later this summer, you can get it online in a form that’s downloadable and available 24/7 and 365 days a year from any personal computer. You won’t need a special program to get it, to understand it, to manipulate it. Our Web Soil Survey will let you select just the small area you want to see and give you the data you want—whenever you want it.

Funding for Conservation
Another consideration for the 2007 farm bill is funding. Prior to 2002, we always said—“if only we had more funds, more resources,” we would achieve nirvana. Well, we got a lot more resources.

The 2002 bill provided a $17 billion increase in funding for conservation. We may have more funding, but we still can’t keep up with the needs. Before 2002, we said “yes” to one of eight EQIP requests; now we can fund one of four. But there are still unmet needs.

In a time of flat or declining budgets, what can we expect for conservation? I don’t know.
But I do know we can’t ignore the deficit.

As a farmer, still in an expansion mode, I find the greatest drag on the farm economic engine is rising interest rates. On my operation, deficiency or LDP payments don’t make up for higher charges from escalating interest rates.

Maybe it’s time to look at alternative sources of funding for conservation. The next logical step is a market-based solution to conservation profitability, viability and sustainability.

Already, carbon credits are traded on the Chicago Climate Exchange. In California, where I spoke on Tuesday, there’s a trading system for habitat for endangered species. Also, we’re beginning to see wetland mitigation banks become very viable in my state.

How do we take these isolated pockets of activity and build an enabling platform that will grow and expand—and fund future agricultural conservation efforts? It’s certainly something to think about. I hope, as we move towards the 2007 farm bill, you will give careful thought to these and other possibilities.

We’re looking forward to hearing your ideas and recommendations during the upcoming listening sessions. And I'm looking forward to your questions and comments now.

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