Response to Agriculture Secretary Johanns' Report on Bush Administration's Farm Bill Proposals

"Secretary Johanns' Farm Bill proposal recognizes that farm and food policies could help many more farmers and ranchers, could provide consumers more healthy food and renewable energy choices, and could do much more to reward farmers and ranchers when they take steps to help the environment. This year, we will turn away more than 50,000 farmers and ranchers offering to share the cost of clean water, clean air, and wildlife habitat because of our misplaced federal spending priorities.

"The next Farm Bill is a chance to help many more farmers, consumers, communities and the environment. Secretary Johanns has helped to lay the groundwork for farm and food policy reforms that will ensure that the next Farm Bill helps meet America's pressing energy, health and environmental challenges. In particular, we applaud Secretary Johanns for proposing to increase spending on voluntary USDA conservation programs by $7.8 billion over 10 years. We also welcome any proposal to restructure our farm safety net to link income support to stewardship, to place reasonable limits on subsidy payments, and to deny income support to producers who plow up grasslands to plant crops.

"Finally, we applaud Secretary Johanns for increasing USDA investments in renewable energy development on our farms and ranches and to focus these investments on cellulosic ethanol. However, we oppose proposals to permit the production of energy feed stocks on lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, the nation's most successful conservation program.

"Secretary Johanns' proposal is a step in the right direction, but Congress must go much further to make farm and food policies work for many more farmers, consumers, communities and the environment."

This week, Environmental Defense proposed a dozen fresh ideas for farm and food policy. In particular, Environmental Defense proposed that: