Conservation Payment
Touted For Ag Bill

NORFOLK, Neb. —(AP)— A former congressman was on the stump, but not to get his seat back.

Former U.S. Rep. David Minge, D-Minn., promoted the Conservation Security Act during a round-table discussion here last week.

If included in the next federal farm bill, the environmentally friendly legislation would financially reward landowners and operators for voluntarily implementing or continuing conservation practices on land in production.

The Senate Ag Committee is currently at work on its version of the 2002 farm bill.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, on Thursday proposed a new conservation program for the farm bill that would provide payments of up to $50,000 to farms that take steps to control erosion or otherwise improve the environment.

Minge was the chief House sponsor of the Conservation Security Act legislation last year, an effort that has now been undertaken by Harkin, Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and Reps. John Thune, R-S.D., and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio.

Similar legislation has been embraced in Europe and could serve as a model for the United States, Minge said.

``Europe is ahead of us in implementing conservation and environmental practices and trying to compensate farmers,'' Minge said.

He said the act is a win-win situation for both the rural and urban sectors. It rewards producers for good stewardship for the non-market environmental and social benefits the practices provide.

These include water and air quality, wildlife habitat, and space for recreational uses, such as hunting, fishing and tourism, he said.

He encouraged producers to explain details of the proposal to their ``city cousins'' as a way to broaden support.

Producers need to explain to non-producers that the ag bill is ``not a give-away to big, wealthy farmers,'' but provides benefits to all sectors, Minge said.