National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture

Senate Farm Bill Alert –
the Wyden-Harkin Amendment

December 7, 2007

Call senators Klobuchar and Coleman today and urge them to cosponsor the Wyden-Harkin amendment

Help Farmers Grow the Next Generation of Bioenergy Crops – the Right Way

Senator Wyden (D-OR) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) have filed a floor amendment to the Senate Farm Bill that would restore sustainability criteria and purposes to the Bioenergy Crop Transition Assistance Program (BCTAP). The BCTAP as passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee is woefully deficient in its support of farmers, local economies and conservation.

The Wyden-Harkin amendment will make incentive and cost share payments to producers of perennial bioenergy crops who meet certain stewardship thresholds. It would provide modest grants to groups of farmers and local entities to conduct feasibility studies and to plant field trials of perennial bioenergy crops. Priority is given to projects that provide the highest estimated benefits to wildlife, air, soil and water quality; include the participation of beginning farmers and ranchers or socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers; and include local ownership of the bioenergy conversion facility.

PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY

Senator Amy Klobuchar
Phone: 202-224-3244
Agriculture Legislative Assistant –
Hilary Meggin Bolea

Senator Norm Coleman
Phone: 202-224-5641
Agriculture Legislative Assistant –
Tony Eberhard

The message is simple: "I am a constituent and am calling to ask the Senator to cosponsor the Wyden-Harkin amendment to the Senate Farm Bill to improve the Bioenergy Crop Transition Assistance Program. We need a bioenergy production incentive program that supports farmers, local economies and conservation. To co-sponsor the Senator should contact Dave Berick in Senator Wyden's office at or 202-224-5244.

It's easy to call: Call the Senator's office and ask for the legislative aide responsible for agriculture. If the aide is unavailable leave the message above with the receptionist or on the aide's voice mail. Be sure to leave your name and phone number.

Background

The Bioenergy Crop Transition Assistance provision in the Senate Farm Bill Energy Title was originally designed to provide incentives to farmers to grow bioenergy crops for cellulosic ethanol and other renewable bioenergy in a sustainable manner. Many bioenergy crops - particularly perennial crops - will be new crops, grown for the first time in regions across the country. The goal of the original measure – a Bioenergy Crop Transition Assistance Program - was to give farmers financial assistance and incentives to incorporate good conservation measures into new bioenergy crop systems and to participate in projects that can generate information that other farmers can use to grow bioenergy crops sustainably.

As passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee, however, the bioenergy crop transition measure has many drawbacks. A farmer cannot participate in the Program unless there is formal financial commitment from the biomass energy facility. This prevents the Program from being used by farmers to undertake trial plantings of bioenergy crops to incorporate them into their farming operations. Adequate conservation goals have been removed from the original measure. The Program's funding could be used to support agricultural practices that harm wildlife and destroy native habitat. The limited funding in the Program is not targeted to perennial crop systems that can increase soil quality and carbon sequestration and decrease erosion and field run-off.

Senators Ron Wyden and Tom Harkin have filed an amendment to the Senate farm bill to restore the Program's ability to help groups of farmers come together to begin to grow biomass crops for energy, restore conservation measures removed from the Senate bill, and target the Program to land where the establishment of perennial bioenergy crops will result in improved conservation performance. The Wyden-Harkin Amendment would help ensure that the new generation of perennial bioenergy crops is grown sustainably.

IMPROVEMENTS PROVIDED IN THE WYDEN-HARKIN AMENDMENT

Improvements for Farmers

Senate Ag Committee Drawbacks Wyden-Harkin Amendment Improvements

No funds for feasibility studies or other planning tools to bring farmers together with bioenergy facilities for bioenergy crop production projects. Offers matching grants of up to $50,000 to farmer groups, counties, or other local entities for feasibility studies and planning including outreach to farmers about bioenergy crop production.

Assistance only to landowners who have already entered into a "financial commitment" with an energy facility to provide biomass. Letter of intent from an existing or planned facility is sufficient to allow farmers to apply for assistance in planting and maintaining bioenergy crops, allowing farmers more flexibility to field test new perennial bioenergy crops for proposed and existing bioenergy facilities.

No priority for projects that include beginning farmers or socially disadvantaged farmers. Priority for projects that include beginning farmers and socially disadvantaged farmers to assist them in accessing the emerging markets for bioenergy feedstocks.

Improvements for Conservation

Senate Ag Committee Bill Drawbacks

Floor Amendment Improvements

Inadequate conservation requirements for farmers receiving funding from the program. Participating farmers meet reasonable conservation goals in return for financial assistance and incentives to establish and maintain perennial bioenergy crops under a contract with USDA.

No targeting of program funds to land where bioenergy crops could improve conservation performance. Program funds targeted to land such as eroding cropland where establishment of perennial bioenergy crops could improve conservation performance.

No restrictions on land eligible for payments to establish and grow bioenergy crop. Program incentives could be used to destroy native grasslands, mature forests, wetland and other sensitive resources.

Limits eligible land to that which has already been used for production, such as previously cultivated land, managed pasture, or clearcut forest land, ensuring that public subsidies do not promote the loss of native habitats.

No restrictions to ensure that harvesting of a bioenergy crop does not harm wildlife. Crops could be harvested during nesting and brood rearing season, resulting in significant bird kills. Restricts harvesting of bioenergy crops until after bird nesting and brood rearing seasons, which generally end well before the first frost, the point in time when most bioenergy companies want to harvest biomass.