[Pollinator] Respond by 6/22: Sign-on letter opportunity: Farm Bill CRP Cost-Share

Tue Jun 19 07:07:08 PDT 2018

Timely Pollinator Week Action Opportunity on the Farm Bill.

Deadline:  June 22!

Click Here <https://goo.gl/forms/EPMOjutgwPkniUzV2>  to add your
organization.  Consider circulating to others who might be interested.

Background:

*	The Honey Bee Health Coalition is circulating the group letter
below.   
*	Basic 'Ask':  "Urging continuation of current levels of Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP) cost-share for practices for conservation
establishment and for seed" [same issue applies to effectiveness of full
range of conservation practices].
*	A variety of beekeeping, crop production, business, and NGO groups
are signing on.  
*	Pollinator Partnership is signing.  

*****************************

June XX, 2018 - DRAFT

The Hon. Pat Roberts

Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry

328A Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC, 20510

The Hon. Michael Conaway

Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

1301 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

The Hon. Debbie Stabenow

Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry

328A Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC, 20510

The Hon. Collin Peterson

Ranking Member, U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

1301 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Senators Roberts and Stabenow and Congressmen Conaway and Peterson,

The undersigned organizations represent beekeepers, farmers, sportsmen,
conservationists, and agriculture business leaders. As the process for
reauthorizing the Farm Bill moves forward in the House and Senate, we write
to urge continuation of current levels of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
cost-share for practices for conservation establishment and for seed. 

Honey bees and other pollinators are a vital part of U.S. agriculture -
supporting production of most of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables grown in
the United States, with an approximate $19 billion in agricultural
production annually. Honey bees and other pollinators like the monarch
butterfly face a variety of challenges including poor nutrition due to lack
of forage and habitat. Private lands offer a critical, scalable opportunity
to sufficiently increase honey bee forage as well as habitat for pollinators
and other species. As traditional stewards of the land, farmers, ranchers
and landowners are uniquely situated to establish, enhance and expand
habitat for honey bees, pollinators and other species on a large scale. In
addition to supporting the nation's pollination needs, CRP practices provide
essential benefits to wildlife, soil health, and water systems. Over the
years, conservation programs have become important, reliable tools for
farmers and ranchers to meet conservation objectives.

Conservation programs must be cost-effective and affordable to incentivize
participation. Reduction of cost-share for these practices and for the seed
necessary to establish cover may make them cost-prohibitive and result in
decreases in high-quality forage and habitat. Continued levels of cost-share
for Farm Bill conservation programs should be accompanied by provisions to
ensure high-quality forage and habitat as well as mid-contract management
opportunities to ensure successful establishment of conservation plantings.
If the goal of Congress is to reduce the cost of seed mixes in conservation
plantings, more must be done at the state level to evaluate seed mix
recommendations.

We thank you for the opportunity to express our support for current levels
of CRP cost-share, and we look forward to working with you and your
colleagues to ensure Title II maintains and supports the demand, popularity,
and necessity of Farm Bill conservation programs. 

Sincerely,

(organization list)

R. Thomas (Tom) Van Arsdall

Director of Public Affairs

(703) 509-4746

 <mailto:TVA at pollinator.org> TVA at pollinator.org

 <http://www.pollinator.org/> Pollinator Partnership

 <http://www.facebook.com/ThePollinatorPartnership>
<http://twitter.com/Pollinators>
<https://plus.google.com/u/0/+PollinatorOrg/about>
<http://www.youtube.com/user/PollinatorPartners> 

 <http://pollinator.org/index.html>
<http://pollinator.org/million-pollinator-garden-challenge.htm> 

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