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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

A Chance to Jumpstart Conservation in Minnesota

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Wednesday, November 7, 2007   

Canton, MN – It could be just what Minnesota farmers and the environment need, according to conservationists. A provision in the Farm Bill now before the Senate would provide financial incentives to those who take steps to protect the state's natural resources. Loni Kemp with the Minnesota Project says it supports good land stewardship practices.

"There are things farmers can do to make the water cleaner, the air purer, and provide habitat for the wildlife that all Americans enjoy, regardless of the type of farm they have."

She says 350,000 acres of Minnesota farmland would be eligible, among 13 million acres nationally. Kemp believes it makes sense to turn to farmers to protect the environment.

"Farmers own half the land in the country, and they're using it to produce the food we need. At the same time, they are caring for the soil and water and the wildlife we all enjoy, and that future generations depend on. We must have good conservation on our working farmlands."

She explains while a similar program in the last farm bill wasn't adequately funded, this one could be properly supported.

Kemp believes the program gives farmers flexibility in how they protect the land.

"In Minnesota, for example, farmers will be able to change their tillage practices to reduce erosion. They'll get help finding alternatives to using chemicals and better monitoring of fertilizer use. They'll also be allowed to plant some little parts of their farm to prairie or forest, or habitat."

Kemp explains farmers elsewhere have other options, such as planting an orchard or starting a grazing operation. She says those interested have to apply to get into the program, and produce a workable conservation plan.

The House Farm Bill would delay funding of the program for four years, so differences between the two versions will have to be worked out by Congressional negotiators.

The program was formerly known as the "Conservation Security Program." More information is online at www.mnproject.org.


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