The Conservation Security Program: To Be or Not to Be?
       Auburn, Jan. 30, 2003 --- The 2002 Farm Bill, touted as the most significant conservation 
legislation in more than 30 years, has fallen on hard times.
       Signed by President Bush in May 2002, the bill encompassed an almost 80-percent 
increase in spending on land conservation programs ? for the first time, including livestock 
producers and fruit and vegetable growers who, historically, have gotten little federal cash.
       But as many of these producers have learned, the devil often lies in the details.  How 
these conservation measures ultimately will be translated into practice is one of the biggest 
questions on Capitol Hill as a cash-strapped Congress begins debate on what actually can be 
spent on the bill.
       Budget shortfalls, partly stemming form the recent tax cuts, and U.S. military 
deployments in the Middle East have prompted Congress to take a more critical view of these 
provisions within the last few months. 
       At one point, there was even talk about severely cutting back the program and limiting it 
to a pilot program in only one state.
        ?How this works out is anyone?s guess at this point,? says Dr. James Novak, an Alabama 
Cooperative Extension System farm economist.  ?We were supposed to have a bill passed by 
January 28, but they?re still working on it.?
 	?We could end up with a fully funded program or one that?s been substantially stripped 
down.  We?ll just have to wait and see.?
       While previous farm bills have contained conservation measures, the 2002 Farm Bill 
represented something entirely new ? the growing sentiment on Capitol Hill that payments should 
be based on criteria other than simply production.
       Under the 2002 Farm Bill?s Conservation Security Program, producers who historically 
have practiced good stewardship on their agricultural lands would receive payments as well as 
incentives in cases where they want to do more.  The first contract payments were authorized to 
be made under the new farm bill and would have covered all agricultural lands, including 
specified areas of forest land associated with farming and ranching operations.
       One of the key phrases farmers will have to learn under this new program is ?resources 
of concern.?
 	Producers and their local NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service) 
representatives will decide which sources of concern apply to their farm and which parts of your 
production system can, or already, address these concerns.
       The CSP is based on a three-tiered approach that allows farmers to participate at the 
level at which they feel the most comfortable.  Funding under each tier would be subject to 
payment limits.
       Even though funding levels for the program are still in doubt, Novak says it behooves 
producers in the meantime to learn as much as they can about the program.  He also says it?s 
worthwhile to make an assessment of your operations, noting the areas of most concern.
       Finally, Novak says, there?s no harm in paying a visit to your local NRCS office to talk 
with personnel about the program and to tell them about environmental improvements that 
already have been made on your operation.  This also would be an opportunity to learn about 
some of the areas of environmental concerns in your area so that you will be better equipped to 
assess your own needs, he adds.
(Source:  Dr. Jim Novak, Extension Economist, 334-844-3512.)