Why the Farm Bill matters for the environment

Agriculture affects our environment in significant ways, but farms are largely exempt from US environmental laws. The Farm Bill guides US farm policy, and it has a major impact on the business choices farmers make.  The Farm Bill is the largest source of federal funding for the conservation of private land in the United States. Its benefits span much further than any single program or resource concern. The bill gives farmers, ranchers and forest landowners the tools to protect and conserve their land and their way of life.  (source)

In the Upper Mississippi basin states, the USDA projects that 34,800 acres of corn and 31,700 acres of soybeans will be planted in 2022.  Much of this goes to feed hogs, turkeys, chickens and cattle.  Ethanol is also an important market for corn in the Midwest.
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The 2023 Farm Bill will set the framework for land conservation for the next five years.   It's important for those of us who are working to support laws and programs aimed at pollution reduction to understand the Farm Bill.   ​The excellent video discussion linked here features Peter Lehner, Managing Attorney for EarthJustice and Michael Drysdale, OF Counsel with Dorsey & Whitney LLP, moderated by Susan Schneider, William H Enfield Professor of Law, Director of the LL.M. Program in Agricultural and Food Law/ University of Arkansas.  It is part of the Law and Nature series of videos.  (Source)

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LWV UMRR's annual meeting on May 21, we will look at the Farm Bill and other major federal bills and programs that will affect the Upper Mississippi Basin - read more about it in this post on the UMRR blog.