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January 21, 2009
NACD Participates in Inaugural Events
Yesterday NACD staff and officers participated in Inaugural
events in Washington, D.C. NACD President-Elect Steve Robinson
was in town for the events and attended the 2009 Bipartisan
Agriculture Inaugural Gala. Many agricultural leaders
attended the event, including House Agriculture Committee
Chairman Collin Peterson, Committee Member Bob Goodlatte
and former USDA Secretary Ed Schafer. NACD co-sponsored
the Gala along with several agricultural organizations and
agribusiness groups. Members of Congress, USDA officials
and Congressional staff were among the guests invited to
the event.
Several staff members also braved the cold temperatures
and long lines to attend President Obama’s swearing in
and other Inaugural ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol and on
the National Mall. The record crowds were immense with
positive spirits for the historic event.
Senate Begins Confirmation of Obama Appointees
Congressional committees held confirmation hearings last
week for the secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, as
well as the administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency and the chair of the President’s Council on
Environmental Quality.
Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack appeared before the Senate
Agriculture Committee on his nomination for U.S. Secretary
of Agriculture, answering a range of questions on
agriculture policy including conservation, alternative
energy and renewable resources. Interior Secretary-nominee
Senator Ken Salazar appeared before the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee, where the topics of renewable
energy, off-shore drilling and reform of the Interior
Department were of high interest. Environmental Protection
Agency Administrator nominee Lisa Jackson and Council on
Environmental Quality chair nominee Nancy Sutley both
appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works
committee and answered questions that largely focused on
climate change policy and greenhouse gas emissions.
Secretary Vilsack and Secretary Salazar were quickly
confirmed on Tuesday by the U.S. Senate. Jackson and Sutler
are expected to be confirmed yet this week. See the NACD website (http://www.nacdnet.org) for NACD President John Redding’s statement regarding the
new Cabinet members.
Farm Bill Program Regulations Released
Last week, USDA released several conservation program
regulations that reflect changes made in the 2008 Farm
Bill. The list of newly released regulations includes
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Wetlands
Reserve Program (WRP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program
(WHIP), Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP),
Healthy Forest Reserve Program (HFRP), Technical Service
Providers (TSP) and the Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP).
The regulations are effective immediately, but NRCS will
take comments and recommended changes over the next few
weeks.
The 2008 Farm Bill alters some operations of these programs
and creates new opportunities for conservation districts.
The NACD Legislative Committee will review the regulations
and develop comments to submit to NRCS. NACD encourages
state associations and districts to do the same.
Deadlines for submitting comments are as follows:
- Comments on the Healthy Forest Reserve Program are
due by February 13, 2009;
- Comments on the Environmental Quality Incentives Program
and the Wetlands Reserve Program are due by March 16, 2009;
- Comments on the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, the
Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program and the Technical
Service Provider Assistance are due by March 17, 2009; and
- Comments on the Grasslands Reserve Program are due by
March 23, 2009.
Additional information on the regulations can be found on
the NRCS website at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/. To view
NACD’s previous comments to NRCS and USDA regarding Farm
Bill program regulations, go to http://nacdnet.org/policy/agriculture/farmbill/.
Request for Proposals Released for Agricultural Water
Enhancement Program
NRCS recently released a request for proposals for the
Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) under the
2008 Farm Bill.
AWEP is a new sub-program of EQIP that addresses
water-related issues on a broader scale than individual
contracts. Activities may include water conservation
restoration or enhancement projects, irrigation efficiency
or improvement projects, drought mitigation and water
quality plan development. As specified in the law, funding
under this program will be for producer/landowner specific
contracts, not project administration. Producers may
participate individually in AWEP or collectively through a
partnership project. NRCS expects $58.4 million to be
available for AWEP in fiscal year 2009.
States and conservation districts that are interested in
working with producers on these types of water-related
partnership projects should submit proposals directly to
NRCS to utilize available funds. Proposals are due by
March 2, 2009. Additional information can be found at
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.
Field to Market Group Releases First Report
Last week Field to Market: The Keystone Alliance for
Sustainable Agriculture released its first report of
environmental resource indicators. NACD is a steering
committee member of Field to Market, which also includes a
variety of conservation and commodity groups, agribusiness
companies and food and retail companies. The group’s first
report looks at metrics for water use, energy use, soil
loss and climate impact in corn, soybean, cotton and wheat
production.
The efforts of Field to Market are to analyze progress that
has been made over the last two decades and develop tools
to assist producers in maintaining sustainability. Food
retailers and commodity purchasers are seeking sustainable
production practices to meet customer demands.
Conservation districts are at the forefront of working with
producers on implementing sustainable conservation practices
and providing a safe and abundant food supply. NACD will
continue to represent district interests in the Field to
Market effort.
A full list of organizations involved in Field to Market and
the group’s new indicators report can be found on the
Keystone website at http://www.keystone.org/spp/env-sustain_ag.html.
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