John W. Olver: “in its current form, the farm bill before us shortchanges conservation programs that serve farms and ranches of all…”

“in its current form, the farm bill before us shortchanges conservation programs that serve farms and ranches of all sizes all over the country while increasing subsidies for large, often corporate operations that are producing commodity crops in specific parts of the country. Many farmers and ranchers want to be good stewards of the land, to restore lost wetlands, grasslands, and implement a variety of other practices to protect wildlife habitat. There is a long list of farmers eager to participate in conservation programs. Currently, 67 percent of the payments go to only 10 percent of the farmers, excluding most of our Nation's farms. The Boehlert-Kind amendment makes payments available to more farmers in more regions of the country by funding conservation programs from which all farmers can benefit because they are not based primarily on the level of production of a narrow group of crops. The Boehlert-Kind amendment shifts only about 2.5 percent of the overall dollar authorization in this legislation away from the largest corporate producers and increases the funding for land conservation programs in every single State in the country. Furthermore, President Bush does not support the committee's bill in its current form.”