The SCSA view

Excerpt

THE Food Security Act of 1985 contains the strongest conservation provisions enacted in 50 years. Though some implementation rules are not final and strategies for fulfilling the legislative directive are not fully developed, the legislation will have far-reaching impacts.

The goal of the four major conservation elements in the act—conservation reserve, conservation compliance, sodbuster, and swampbuster—is to maintain the quality of our productive land while discouraging the conversion of wetlands and highly erodible land to use as cropland. This is a noble aim that deserves everyone's support and cooperation. Achieving the goal will not be easy. But we must work to that end and perhaps realize some benefits that were not perceived when the legislation was conceived initially.

For example, the act has brought visibility to conservation in the context of agricultural policy. Soil erosion and wetlands conversion now are talked about with commodity price supports and farm loans in congressional committee discussions and agricultural forums. This is important as we assess our long-range production capacity in terms of resource sustainability. It has encouraged renewed understanding and cooperation among federal agencies responsible for the administration of agricultural programs.

A corollary to this …