[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Conservation organizations and some farm groups are urging congressional budget writers to restore cuts they put in their fiscal 2016 spending bills[/title][fusion_text]Thursday, September 17th, 2015
Conservation organizations and some farm groups are urging congressional budget writers to restore cuts they put in their fiscal 2016 spending bills and to reject a delay in new conservation compliance requirements for crop insurance. In a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees, the groups say the cuts “are shortsighted and would severely limit the capacity of farmers, ranchers and foresters to conserve water, maintain their soil, and prepare for extreme weather events. The 2016 budget year starts Oct. 1, but negotiations over spending are expected to extend well into the fall. Republican leaders have agreed to negotiate raising spending caps on domestic spending, which could free up some additional money for a range of programs. Among the cuts the letter cites is a 2.26 million acre, or 23 percent, reduction to the Conservation Stewardship Program below the level mandated by the 2014 farm bill. That cut is in the House’s Agriculture appropriations bill, but not the Senate version. Both the House and Senate bills would cut the Environmental Quality Incentives Program by more than $300 million for 2016, and the Senate bill would also rescind $73 million in carryover funding, the letter says. The letter urges the appropriators to reject a policy rider in the House bill that would delay the new conservation compliance provisions by a year.
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