Tom Harkin: “there are really two parts to this farm bill. One component was in general put together in a very bipartisan and…”

“there are really two parts to this farm bill. One component was in general put together in a very bipartisan and cooperative manner. That process has produced a number of sound provisions that deserve broad support. There are many good features in the titles of this bill dealing with conservation, for example, the continuation of the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and improvements in the wetlands conservation rules. The wetlands rules are something that has concerned me greatly. They have been very confusing and frustrating to many farmers in Iowa, but there some positive changes in this bill that should make wetlands conservation rules more reasonable and workable for farmers. One of the wetlands changes involves farmland that has been converted in the past and drainage tiles have been put in, but for one reason or another, such as tile plugging up, the land has returned to wetland again. Farmers in this situation have had problems with the rules in trying to reopen their drainage systems. This bill will allow farmers to go in and unplug their tiles and go ahead and drain those fields, if they have already been previously converted. That is very important. This bill also provides that farmers can take a wet spot, a small spot in the field, and go ahead and convert it and farm it if they mitigate the loss through improving, restoring or creating wetlands in the area.”