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SF 1274

1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Current Version - 1st Engrossment

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A resolution
memorializing the United States Congress to reauthorize the Conservation Reserve
Program as part of the 2007 Farm Bill.

WHEREAS, the Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary federal program that
protects millions of acres of American topsoil from erosion, thereby safeguarding our nation's
soil and water resources while at the same time benefiting our nation's farmers and farming
communities; and

WHEREAS, some 33,000 Minnesota farms participate in the Conservation Reserve
Program, committing to take 1,800,000 of our state's most environmentally sensitive acres out
of agricultural production for a period of ten to 15 years; and

WHEREAS, Minnesota farmers have instituted conservation and erosion control measures
on these acres, including planting trees and native grasses, installing filter strips and riparian
buffers, and restoring wetlands important to wildlife including native and migrating waterfowl;
and

WHEREAS, through the Conservation Reserve Program, Minnesota farmers remove
environmentally sensitive acres from agricultural production and plant them with cover crops; and

WHEREAS, the Wetlands Reserve Program is a voluntary federal program in which
Minnesota landowners protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property, thereby improving
wetland values and functions and providing valuable wildlife habitat; and

WHEREAS, the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program have
the ability to sequester carbon in addition to providing erosion control, water quality protection,
and wildlife habitat; and

WHEREAS, in 2006 there were 14,500 acres enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program
in Minnesota, representing nearly ten percent of program acreage nationwide and trailing only
Arkansas and Nebraska in the number of acres enrolled; and

WHEREAS, recent United States Department of Agriculture decisions regarding rental
rates, appraisals, eligibility, and maintenance have limited enrollment in the Conservation Reserve
Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program well below the amount of acres authorized in the
2002 Farm Bill; and

WHEREAS, as successful and equitable conservation programs, the Conservation Reserve
Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program enjoy broad support in Minnesota from farming,
hunting, wildlife, and environmental communities; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the United
States Department of Agriculture to utilize its authority to offer general sign-up enrollments
during 2007 with competitive market rental rates to achieve the enrollment of acres authorized
for the Conservation Reserve Program in the 2002 Farm Bill.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the
Congress of the United States to reauthorize the Conservation Reserve Program with an enrollment
cap of 45,000,000 acres and the Wetlands Reserve Program as part of the 2007 Farm Bill.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the Speaker and the Clerk of
the United States House of Representatives, the President and the Secretary of the United States
Senate, the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, the chairs of congressional
committees with jurisdiction over agriculture, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in
Congress.