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, [1] [1] OwnershipCroplandGrassland Pasture & Rangeland Forestland * Special & Urban uses and Misc.+ Total~ Federal State & other public American Indian^ Private ,378 Total ,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 Wetlands Pollination Carbon Sequestration Scenic & Rec. Amenities Crop Production

Conservation Across Agricultural Landscapes Current Ag-Conservation Programs: A Review

Major Agricultural Conservation Programs Compliance Programs  Conservation Compliance, Sodbuster, Swampbuster Land Retirement Programs  Conservation Reserve Prog (CRP), Wetland Reserve Prog (WRP), Grassland Reserve Prog. Working Land Programs  Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Security Prog (CSP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Prog (WHIP) Technical Assistance  Conservation 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 * Land Retirement CRP WRP Grassland Reserve Program 1, , , , Working Land EQIP CSP WHIP Technical Assistance Conservation Technical Assistance Agricultural Land Preservation Farm & Ranchland Protection Prog

Top States in Ag-Conservation Funds $ million StatesCRPWRPEQIPCSPFRPPTotal* Iowa Texas Minnesota Missouri Illinois Kansas Montana North Dakota Nebraska Washington

Geographical Distribution Commodity Payments

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 from 3.06 to 1.75 billion tons/year [Compliance, CRP, EQIP] Wetlands: loss to agriculture drops from 500,000+ ac/yr in to 26,000 ac/yr in to no net loss in Gain of 260,000 acres in [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 MORE AND BETTER

Areas of Improvement in Ag - Conservation Broad application across all agricultural landscapes Account for full range of ecosystem services Improve 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 Policy Conserving 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

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 Management Nutrient 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 Federalism New Markets