Leaders say state needs farm bill 'now'

About 23,000 acres of Minnesota farmland will be preserved as wildlife habitat under a new federal program detailed Saturday in St. Paul by federal officials.

The Minnesota lands are among about 260,000 acres in 18 states that have been approved for the new program, which is aimed specifically at creating wildlife habitat, U.S. Department of Agriculture Acting Secretary Chuck Conner announced.

While that could greatly benefit wildlife, it is dwarfed by the potential impact of the new federal farm bill still being negotiated in Washington, which calls for conservation of many millions of acres.

Conner and two other key players in that debate, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said Saturday that the farm bill is crucial for wildlife conservation. Different bills passed by the House and Senate each contain provisions extending the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) -- long touted as the nation's most important conservation legislation. More than 30 million acres have been enrolled in the program, which pays landowners to idle cropland and plant grasslands.

Conner, Harkin and Peterson spoke at a farm bill forum at Pheasants Forever's 25th anniversary Pheasant Fest show at St. Paul RiverCentre. An estimated 25,000 people were expected to attend the three-day event.

While all three said they hope to get a farm bill passed, key differences among the Senate, House and Bush administration remain.

"I'm determined to get it done, but I'm just not sure how we're going to do this," Peterson said. "I want to pass a bill that won't be vetoed by the president."

Already, hundreds of thousands of acres of CRP lands have been removed from the program -- including 80,000 acres in Minnesota and 400,000 acres in North Dakota -- because of rising crop prices. Farmers now can earn more growing corn than the CRP payments provide. A major concern is whether future CRP payments will be increased enough to attract enrollment.

"I'm hoping we have a program keeping as many acres in CRP as possible," Harkin said.

The new program announced Saturday by Conner, called State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE), is part of CRP. Eventually, a half-million acres nationwide will be enrolled in the program, he said. Farmers will be paid additional incentives to enroll their lands.

In Minnesota, the 23,000 acres are targeted at improving pheasant habitat -- though it also would benefit other wildlife, including songbirds. "We consider it a watershed moment for wildlife conservation," Nomsen said.