Washington, DC – Today, the Senate Agriculture Committee marked up its version of the 2018 Farm Bill and passed it out of committee. Aviva Glaser, agricultural policy director for the National Wildlife Federation, praised the conservation provisions of the bill.

“The Senate Farm Bill has strong conservation provisions that will help protect soil, water and wildlife on private lands. Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow deserve strong praise for their thoughtful work in drafting this measure. We are particularly pleased the manager’s amendment would double the amount of funding in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program dedicated to wildlife practices and would increase funding dedicated to the Voluntary Public Access Program, thanks to the efforts of Senators Bennet and Daines.

“We are also gratified that an amendment was accepted that would enable expansion of the six-state ‘sodsaver’ provision that helps discourage planting on native prairies. We will work to build on this amendment as the bill moves to the floor. Senators Klobuchar and Thune worked hard on this critical program that will protect our dwindling native grasslands. Senator Donnelly deserves kudos for his efforts to improve the compatibility of crop insurance with conservation practices like cover crops. We are grateful to Senator Thune for his thoughtful efforts to improve the Conservation Reserve Program, and we look forward to working with him, Chairman Roberts, and Ranking Member Stabenow on this issue as the bill moves to the floor.

“Finally, we are extremely pleased this is a clean bill that is entirely free of attacks on existing laws that protect our nation’s waters and wildlife. We encourage the full Senate to move swiftly, and in a bipartisan fashion, to pass this bill.”

Resources:

• June 12 Statement – Draft Senate Farm Bill "Strong"
• The National Wildlife Federation – 2018 Farm Bill Platform