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<DIV><FONT size=2>From <EM>NY Times</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/business/09conserve.html?ex=1208404800&en=35c5204252ef1f5b&ei=5070&emc=eta1"></A> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>As Prices Rise, Farmers Spurn Conservation</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=byline><FONT size=2>By </FONT><A
title="More Articles by David Streitfeld"
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_streitfeld/index.html?inline=nyt-per"><FONT
size=2>DAVID STREITFELD</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV class=timestamp><FONT size=2>Published: April 9, 2008</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=timestamp><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Out on the farm, the ducks and pheasants are losing
ground.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Thousands of farmers are taking their fields out of the
government’s biggest conservation program, which pays them not to cultivate.
They are spurning guaranteed annual payments for a chance to cash in on the boom
in wheat, soybeans, corn and other crops. Last fall, they took back as many
acres as are in Rhode Island and Delaware combined. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Environmental and hunting groups are warning that years of
progress could soon be lost, particularly with the native prairie in the Upper
Midwest. But a broad coalition of baking, poultry, snack food, ethanol and
livestock groups say bigger harvests are a more important priority than habitats
for waterfowl and other wildlife. They want the government to ease restrictions
on the preserved land, which would encourage many more farmers to think beyond
conservation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Kerry Dockter, a rancher in Denhoff, N.D., has about 450 acres
of grassland in the program. “When this program first came about, it was a
pretty good thing,” he said. “But times have definitely changed.”</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The government payments, Mr. Dockter said, “aren’t even
comparable anymore” to what he could make by working the land. He plans to
devote some of his conservation acres to growing feed for his cows and some to
grazing. He might also lease some land to neighbors.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>For years, the problem with cropland was that there was too
much of it, which kept food prices low to the benefit of consumers and the
detriment of farmers. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Now, because of a growing global middle class as well as
federal mandates to turn large amounts of corn into ethanol-based fuel, food
prices are beginning to jump. Cropland is suddenly in heavy demand, a situation
that is fraying old alliances, inspiring new ones and putting pressure on the
Agriculture Department, which is being lobbied directly by all sides without
managing to satisfy any of them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Born nearly 25 years ago in an era of abundance, the
Conservation Reserve Program is having a rough transition to the age of
scarcity. Its 35 million acres — about 8 percent of the cropland in the country
— are the big prize in this brawl.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Read the entire article at </FONT><A
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/business/09conserve.html?ex=1208404800&en=35c5204252ef1f5b&ei=5070&emc=eta1"><FONT
size=2>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/business/09conserve.html?ex=1208404800&en=35c5204252ef1f5b&ei=5070&emc=eta1</FONT></A></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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<DIV><FONT
size=1>______________________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>The Xerces Society is an international
nonprofit organization that </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>protects wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>habitat. </FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT
size=1>To </FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>join the Society, make a
</FONT></FONT><FONT size=1>contribution</FONT><FONT size=1>, </FONT><FONT
size=1>or read about our </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>work, </FONT><FONT size=1>please visit </FONT><FONT size=1><A
href="http://www.xerces.org/">www.xerces.org</A>.</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Matthew Shepherd</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Senior Conservation Associate</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>4828 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR 97215,
USA</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Tel: 503-232 6639 Cell: 503-807 1577 Fax: 503-233
6794</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Email: </FONT><A href="mailto:mdshepherd@xerces.org"><FONT
size=1>mdshepherd@xerces.org</FONT></A><FONT size=1> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT
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