7.1 Working Partnership Between Agriculture and the Environment

One of the most significant trends in the last few decades is the growing awareness of nearly all elements of U.S. society in the importance of preserving our land, water, and air resources. As a whole, U.S. crop and livestock producers are among the most dedicated and effective conservationists, and many of them have voluntarily adopted environmentally friendly practices that have local, regional, and even global benefits. However, agriculture like any business sector still has environmental policy challenges to address. These include finding ways to keep high-quality working farmland in production, encouraging producers to implement additional conservation measures on working farmland, and developing more effective government programs that achieve conservation aims while making economic sense for landowners.

These include protecting high-quality farmland and open spaces from urban development, and developing more effective government programs that achieve conservation aims while making economic sense for landowners. There is also a need for the agricultural community to address the lingering perception in some corners of U.S. society that farmers are merely part of the environmental problem instead of key allies in conservation efforts.

Significant gains have been made in addressing traditional agricultural environmental concerns over the past decade. Soil erosion is down, wetlands protection has increased, and wildlife habitat has been enhanced. Existing USDA-managed conservation programs account for a good deal of this progress, and NASDA strongly supports their continuation. However, the scope and range of environmental challenges faced by farmers and ranchers has expanded, while environmental regulations have increased and changed along with the public perceptions, priorities, and science that underlie them. A new focus on partnership is needed to harness a new generation of environmental stewardship.