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Conservation Across Agricultural Landscapes
Few Thoughts From the
National Forum on US Agricultural Policy and the 2007 Farm Bill: Conserving Economic Resilience and
Ecological Integrity of American Farmlands
Kaush Arha
Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University
Outline
What is at stake - The Conservation Field
How Current Ag-Conservation Programs Work
Performance of Current Ag-Conservation Programs & Areas of Improvement
Way Forward
Conservation Across Agricultural Landscapes
What is at Stake –
The Conservation Field
Agricultural Lands Across United States
Table 1. US Land Ownership and Use in Million Acres, 2002.[1]
Ownership Cropland Grassland Pasture & Rangeland
Forestland*
Special & Urban uses and Misc.+
Total~
Federal -- 152 246 237 635
State & other public
3 40 70 82 195
American Indian^
2 36 11 7 56
Private 436 358 422 162 1,378
Total 442 587 749 487 2,264
* Includes reserved forest land in parks and other special uses. + Excludes about 98 million acres of forest lands that are counted as forestland.^ Managed in trust by Bureau of Indian Affairs for American Indian and Alaskan Native tribes and individuals.~ Distributions may not add to totals due to rounding.
Dominant Landscapes Across Lower 48 States
Water
Conservation
Species Conservation
Soil
Conservation
Air quality, carbon sequestration, rural amenities etc.
Ecosystem Services From Agricultural Lands
Nutrient Mgmt
Vegetation (Native)
Soil
Water
Air Quality
Biodiversity
WetlandsPollination
Carbon Sequestration
Scenic & Rec. Amenities
Crop Production
Conservation Across Agricultural Landscapes
Current Ag-Conservation Programs: A Review
Major Agricultural Conservation Programs
Compliance ProgramsConservation Compliance, Sodbuster,
SwampbusterLand Retirement ProgramsConservation Reserve Prog (CRP), Wetland
Reserve Prog (WRP), Grassland Reserve Prog. Working Land ProgramsEnvironmental Quality Incentives Program
(EQIP), Conservation Security Prog (CSP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Prog (WHIP)
Technical AssistanceConservation Techincal Assistance
Evolution of Ag- Conservation Programs
The 2002 Farm Bill Attempted to balance land retirement and working land programs – Increased EQIP, introduced CSP, and curtailed performance measures.
Agricultural Conservation Funding in $ million
Program 2002 2003 2004 2005*
Land Retirement CRPWRPGrassland Reserve Program
1,785 284
-
1,789 309 39
1,799 285 55
1,937 268 128
Working LandEQIPCSPWHIP
390
- 15
390
- 24
390 41 38
390 202 47
Technical AssistanceConservation Technical Assistance
679 716 742 720
Agricultural Land Preservation Farm & Ranchland Protection Prog.
51 78 91 112
Top States in Ag-Conservation Funds $ million
States CRP WRP EQIP CSP FRPP Total*
Iowa 217.5 13.3 13.0 18.6 0 264.0
Texas 140.4 0.6 47.8 2.3 1.5 193.4
Minnesota 110.6 15.4 14.7 5.6 0 147.1
Missouri 105.3 10.5 9.1 19.0 0 146.4
Illinois 120.2 9.5 6.1 9.4 0 145.5
Kansas 116.0 0.7 14.7 10.1 0.4 142.6
Montana 113.5 0.4 15.6 11.2 0.8 142.6
NorthDakota
110.0 2.1 10.0 5.6 0.4 128.7
Nebraska 71.2 4.4 20.2 7.7 0.2 104.1
Washington 78.5 2.9 9.7 6.4 1.1 101.1
Geographical Distribution Commodity Payments
Top 25%
Lowest 25%
Second 25%
Third 25%
Commodity Payments as a Percent of Gross Cash Receipts, State Rankings, 2004
Conservation Across Agricultural Landscapes
Performance of Current Ag-Conservation Programs & Areas of Improvement
Performance of Current Ag-Conservation Prog
Soil Erosion on Cropland: 43% drop between 1982-2003 from 3.06 to 1.75 billion tons/year [Compliance, CRP, EQIP] Wetlands: loss to agriculture drops from 500,000+ ac/yr in 1954-74 to 26,000 ac/yr in 1992-97 to no net loss in 1997-2003. Gain of 260,000 acres in 1997-2003. [Compliance, CRP, WRP]Wildlife: tough to measure but extraordinary benefits to grassland species including ring-necked pheasant and waterfowl. Water- ??
GOOD FOUNDATION TO DO A LOT GOOD FOUNDATION TO DO A LOT MORE AND BETTERMORE AND BETTER
Areas of Improvement in Ag - Conservation
Broad application across all agricultural landscapesAccount for full range of ecosystem servicesImprove Conservation Effectiveness Strategic application across landscapes to address
pressing conservation issues Ready performance measures Robust reporting (& enforcement) Coordinated delivery of ag-conservation programs
Better use of institutional measures to facilitate cooperative federalism and new markets
Conservation Across Agricultural Landscapes
Way Forward – A New Ag-Conservation Paradigm
New Paradigm for Agricultural Conservation
Conservation Across Agricultural Landscapes - Explicit Objective of US Agricultural PolicyConserving Ecosystem Services Across All Agricultural Landscapes – stated goal of Ag-Conservation Programs Conservation Effectiveness Strategic application & performance by local watersheds Land Stewardship Standard Whole Farm Stewardship Agreement
Institutional Measures Cooperative Federalism New Markets WTO Compatibility
Conservation Effectiveness: Watershed Approach
Conservation Effectiveness: Watershed Approach
Feng et. al, Iowa Ag. Review, Fall 2006
Conservation Effectiveness: Land Stewardship Standard
Voluntary standard to receive any USDA funds
Guiding Principles Minimize environmental impact from farm to watershed Promote practices that benefits the farm Ease in implementation preferably as part of farm ops.
Potential variables Soil management plan: Sodbuster Discourage conversion of sensitive habitats e.g. wetland :
Swampbuster Nutrient management plan
Conservation Effectiveness: Nutrient Mgmt.
Conservation Across Agricultural Landscapes
Land Stewardship Standard Soil ManagementNutrient Management Wetland (or other sensitive habitat) Conversion
Whole Farm Stewardship Agreement
Land Retirement
Working Land Programs
Technical Assistance
Field:
Coordinated Implementation & Reward on Performance
Watershed:
Conservation Priorities & Performance Measure
Cooperative FederalismNew Markets