WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) delivered the following opening remarks at the hearing “Perspectives from the Field, Part 4: Conservation.”
The following is Chairman Boozman’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:
“Good afternoon and welcome. It is my privilege to call this hearing to order to discuss the importance of conservation to our nation’s producers. I would like to thank our witnesses for taking time away from your families and your work responsibilities to share your expertise with our committee today.
“When it comes to conservation, farmers and ranchers are at the forefront of this effort because their livelihoods depend on the health and sustainability of their lands. American producers’ commitment to conservation, while producing the food, fiber and fuel our nation needs, benefits all Americans by providing clean water, clean air, healthy soils and abundant wildlife habitat.
“Through reauthorization of the farm bill, Congress can play a role in supporting this commitment by improving the conservation programs implemented by USDA and investing in these initiatives.
“The conservation needs of agriculture are diverse and unique to each producer and operation, and we must ensure that the farm bill supports the wide range of needs.
“Farm Bill conservation programs are successful because they are locally led, voluntary and incentive driven, and this must continue in the next farm bill. We must not tie the hands of our producers by requiring the implementation of certain conservation practices in order to be eligible for other incentives like crop insurance.
“The heavy hand of government does not know better than an individual producer regarding what resource concerns they need to address locally. Just looking at the producers here before us, we know that the needs of rice producers in the Arkansas Delta are not the same as what corn producers in Illinois or ranchers in Texas need.
“The Senate Republican framework released last year highlighted many of these priorities and the need for this flexibility.
“The framework made common sense improvements to the conservation programs in the farm bill by streamlining their implementation and moving more decision making to the states and local level.
“These improvements will save time and money for both producers and USDA. It also supported the technical assistance that producers need to help implement and design conservation on their operation and embraced innovation through precision agriculture and the support of new conservation practices.
“Finally, the framework also included the reinvestment of unspent Inflation Reduction Act funds into existing conservation programs to ensure producers have access to these programs for generations to come.
“Ranking Member Klobuchar has always been a strong champion of conservation programs at USDA. I look forward to working together to craft a strong conservation title while we work to pass a bipartisan farm bill this year. Our producers need certainty, not another one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.
“I am confident that the testimony provided by our witnesses today will prove invaluable as we write this farm bill, and I thank you again for your participation today.
“I now turn to Ranking Member Klobuchar for her opening statement.”