Take Action: Urge your senators to make sure the new farm bill protects the environment

Urge your senators to make sure the new farm bill protects the environment

This year Congress must reauthorize the farm bill, which includes financial assistance to farmers who adopt practices that are good for the environment. Urge your senators to make sure the new bill provides adequate funding for strong conservation programs and helps farmers promote organic farming and environmentally friendly pest control practices.

Your Senators

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

As the Senate considers and votes on the farm bill in the coming days and weeks, I urge you to support Senator Harkin's effort to include fully funded and significantly enhanced conservation programs in the bill. At a minimum, I hope you will support at least an additional $5 billion over five years for conservation programs, exceeding the amount adopted in the House bill.

As you know, farm bill conservation programs play a critical role in helping our farmers protect the environment. Cost assistance and incentive programs help farmers protect our drinking water resources, provide habitat for wildlife, improve air quality, provide renewable energy and transition to organic agriculture. Yet existing programs are woefully under-funded, and more than two out of every three farmers who apply are turned away.

I also urge you to support farm bill programs that help farmers promote environmentally friendly pest control practices and transition to organic farming. Even though pesticides are a leading water contaminant in agricultural areas, less than three percent of the farm bill conservation dollars available to working farms were allocated to pest management projects in recent years. The pesticide industry amendment added to the House version of the farm bill would thwart the Agriculture Department's ability to promote alternative pest control methods, and must be kept out of the Senate version.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]

Sincerely,

Your signature will be added from the information you provide below.

Taken action before? Just enter your email address here, choose a title below and click send. First time taking action? All fields below are required to send your message.

Complete the following to send this message and sign-up to receive periodic updates. If you have participated before, just type in your email address and set your prefix, then submit the form. Email:* Title (prefix):* First Name:* Last Name:* Address Line 1:* Address Line 2: City:* State/ Province: ZIP/Postal Code:* Country:* Yes, I would like to receive a copy of this letter * Required Field
Yes! I want to receive environmental updates and calls to action from NRDC!